DISEASES OF POULTRY 503 
of tuberculosis and for lesions of aspergillosis, the latter being 
much more common in the fowl than tuberculosis of the lungs. 
A small piece of the lungs should be placed in a tray of water. It 
will float if healthy, and sink if unhealthy. 
The crop, gullet, and windpipe should next be studied,—espe- 
cially the crop,—to see that there is no obstruction which would stop 
the feed from entering the stomach and gizzard. The organs pre- 
viously examined can now be removed, and careful examination 
be made of the gizzard and intestines to see that the walls as well 
as the undigested material within them are normal in appearance. 
The cecum should be studied, and the presence or absence of 
tubercles on the intestinal membranes noted. Next the repro- 
ductive organs of the female can be studied, to determine the 
possible rupture of the oviduct or the breaking of an egg in it. 
In making a post-mortem examination, if the disease seems to 
have been located, a description of the disease should be gone over 
carefully and compared with the conditions found, to verify or 
disprove the supposition. 
Diseases of Poultry.—In studying the diseases of the domestic 
fowl, the most systematic procedure is to group them, according 
to their location or the group of organs which they directly affect, 
as diseases of the digestive system, nervous system, respiratory 
system, and reproductive system. 
Furthermore, there are diseases not associated with any par- 
ticular group of organs or any one system, which, nevertheless, 
should be considered. These may be termed miscellaneous diseases. 
There is still another group, representing a few diseases of 
highly infectious nature which may affect one or more parts of 
the body. These are termed infectious diseases. 
The following list gives the common diseases which the average 
poultryman is apt to meet in every-day work. They are grouped 
according to the system with which they are associated. Owing 
to limited space, detailed discussion of these is impossible. At the 
end of this chapter will be found references to standard authorities 
on poultry diseases, where detailed information concerning each 
specific disease may be found. 
Diseases of the digestive system: Impacted, inflamed, or 
enlarged crop; inflammation of the stomach, gastritis; simple 
diarrhcea; enteritis; indigestion; constipation. 
Diseases of the nervous system: Apoplexy; heat prostration; 
congestion of the brain; epilepsy. 
