350 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



would probably aid materially in diagnosis. A negative 

 tuberculin test is not conclusive evidence that genital tuber- 

 culosis is not present. The very valuable herd bull, from 

 v^hich Figure 96 was, made, quite certainly contracted the. 

 infection from a cow which had successfully passed several 

 tuberculin tests, in spite of severe generalized, utero-tubal 

 tuberculosis, and marked uterine catarrh. While in many 

 cases, such as delineated in Figure 104, quite an accurate 

 physical diagnosis of genital tuberculosis may be made, not 

 all cases may be detected. The important point is that 

 utero-tubal tuberculosis may almost always be tentatively 

 diagnosed by rectal palpation and the veterinarian and 

 owner placed on guard. So long as the symptoms named 

 are present, the tentative diagnosis of utero-tubal tubercu- 

 losis is not only justified, but obligatory, from the sanitary 

 standpoint. When uterine catarrh is present, copulation is 

 contra-indicated by every consideration of hygiene. Fer- 

 tilization can not occur; coitus aggravates the catarrh and 

 imperils the bull. The retention in a dairy of a cow with 

 obstinate uterine catarrh is unjustified by every considera- 

 tion of health and decency. The afflicted animal is unfit to 

 associate with others in such a manner that their food may 

 become contaminated with the genital discharges. 



A tentative diagnosis of utero-tubal tuberculosis works no 

 serious injury. If the cow recovers, as a rule the recovery 

 automatically corrects the diagnosis ; if she fails to recover, 

 she is worthless for breeding or dairying, and fit only for 

 slaughter, whether the infection be tuberculous or not. 



(4) Tuberculosis of the cervix is presumably rare. I 

 have but one specimen (Figures 111 and 112) derived from 

 the abattoir, and hence without a clinical history. In this 

 case, the uterus and oviducts are also involved. The illus- 

 trations suggest the probable clinical features. The greatly 

 swollen, hard, smooth lips of the cervix could not well be 

 missed by an expert examining the genitalia clinically. 

 While uterine catarrh was evidently present in this animal, 

 it presumably had nothing to do with the cervical lesion. 

 The lesion was apparently closed and caused no discharge. 



