278 \EJ IClJIXARV ITIIULOGV. 



FlLiRCiMA. 



Fil)r(imata arc tuniurs compuscil nf adnlt fibrous crinnecti\'e 

 tissue. They occur in all animals. The skin and subcutaneous 

 areolar tissue is their most fre(|uent lncation, 1)ut no tisstie is 

 exempt. They are Irequcnth- found in tlie region of the sternum 

 of the horse and ox, in the (i\-ar\- and uterus of the cow, and in 

 the peruieal and clliow regions of 'he dog. In tlie skin and sub- 

 cutanecus tissue tliev nsualK- a])pear as loose, circumscribed, 

 niidular growths. Some filM'omata hax-e no well defined border 

 or line of demarcation but are ajiparentlv dift'used through the 

 tissue. Tliis type, ho\\-e\-er, is somewhat rare, and possibly they 

 are not fibromata. Thev mav become so large that their pres- 

 sure i)riiduces atroph\-, degeneration or necrosis of the skin cov- 

 ering them, or the surface epithelium mav produce sufficient 

 new tissue to compensate fur the increased surface. These tu- 

 mors are usually single, that is, onU' one tumor occuring in the 

 individual ; but the^- ma\- be multiple. Multiple fibromatosis is 

 occasionalb" obser\-ed in th.e subcutaneous tissue of horses. 

 'J he\ are \'ariable in size, being so small in many instances that 

 the\ are not observed in an ordinarv examination. A fibroma 

 may be so large that the diagnostician would mistake it for a 

 malignant tumor, a hernia, cold abscess, etc. Their shape is as 

 variable as their size. Thc\' mav be (jval, tabular, tubercular, 

 nodular, and, in fact, thev mav have anv C()nceivable shape and 

 cfintonr. 



If the skin or covering tissue is incised or dissected awav the 

 tumor is usually found to be surrounded bv a fibrous capsule or, 

 in rare instances, it mav blend imperceptiblv with the surround- 

 ing normal tissue. Thev are not difficult to remove in their 

 entirety because r)f their encapsulation. When they are excised 

 their blood supply is found to be disproportionate to their size. 

 A\'ith the small or limited blood supplv there is a tendency to 

 a slow growth and degenerati(jn and necrosis. A\'ith an exces- 

 si\'e blood supply there mav be rapid growth and perhaps fre- 

 cpient hemrirrhages into the tumor tissue. If the excised tumor 

 is sectioned and the cut surface examined with the unaided eve, 

 it appears tri be composed of compact bundles of fibrous connec- 

 ti\e tissue atypically arranged (hard filiroma) or of looselv ar- 

 ranged bands of fibrous connective tissue inclosing areolar spaces 

 (soft fibroma). In color the section appears pearly wdiite with 

 grayish-white, yellriwish-A\ hite or dull pink areas, depending 

 iiipon the compactness of the tissue, whether the fibre bundles 

 are cut longitudinallv or transversely, and the amount of blood 

 contained. .\ i'^ri -"-i i-; fr^i, densp and resistant, and when cut 



