ACTINOMYCOSIS OF THE LIVER. 



On damp infested soil, in cattle and swine. Round tumors, bard sur- 

 face, soft centre, fibrous sac, clubshaped cells in tufts. Symptoms of liver 

 disorder. Coincident external actinomycosis. Treatment : potassium 

 iodide. 



In damp soils where actinomyces are present in the soil and 

 vegetation, it is not uncommon to find the characteristic growths 

 in the liver of cattle and swine. Rasmussen saw twenty-two cases 

 of hepatic actinomycosis in one year (1890) and in a number of 

 cases he has found the liver, spleen, peritoneum and intestine 

 simultaneously affected. Jensen who has also recorded hepatic 

 cases, found tumors extending from the liver to the diaphragm. 

 He describes them as rounded masses, of different sizes, enclosed 

 in a fibrous envelope of variable thickness, hard and resistant at 

 the surface and somewhat softened toward the centre. Micro- 

 scopic examination detects the club-shaped cells arranged in tufts 

 and radiating from a common centre. 



Symptoms are only the general indications of hepatic disease 

 differing according to the size, and position of the morbid product 

 and its interference with normal functions. When, however, 

 superficial actinomycosis is found these symptoms may be fairly 

 attributed to the existence of similar products in the liver. 



Treatment consists in the administration of potassium iodide in 

 full doses, daily for a week, followed by a laxative, and then, 

 after an interval of two days, repeat the treatment for a second 

 week, and so for a third, fourth and fifth until the microbe has 

 been destroyed. 



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