MORBID ANATOMY 145 
This stagnation of bile no doubt accounts for the 
yellow staining of tissues adjacent to the gall-bladder, 
the biliary fluid having transuded through. the. coats of 
the latter under pressure. This localised staining is 
repeatedly seen on post-mortem examination of a: dis- 
tempered carcase, even in the absence of generalised 
icteric staining, but it is quite conceivable that sufficient 
obstruction could have taken place to force the bile to 
deviate locally from its normal path without setting up a 
well-established jaundice marked by a general dis- 
coloration of the body tissues. 
Some authors have considered it a post-mortem change, 
a view which seems to be negatived by the fact that 
the condition can sometimes be observed upon open- 
ing the carcase very soon after death. Ail tissues 
of the body except the nerves, brain substance, and 
spinal cord, then become stained with the character- 
istic yellow colour of icterus. The liver itself may 
be any shade between yellow and dark brown, and, 
owing to irregular staining, may possess a mottled 
appearance. 
Buccal Lesions.—In true distemper it is rare to find 
ulcerative lesions on the buccal mucous membranes; these, 
however, appear constantly in the. allied complaint 
known as Stuttgart disease, in which, also, a necrosis 
and gangrene of the tongue are observed. 
Gums.—The gums at their junction with the éaath < are 
often injected and may be made to bleed quite easily. 
The mouth is of a purple colour, at one time dry and at 
another covered with a slimy, foul, ‘stringy or hemor- 
rhagic saliva. 
Tonsils.—Swollen, red, or purple-coloured tonsils are 
seen in a few instances, and in malignant distemper they 
may be coated with a diphtheritic deposit which also 
involves the larynx, pharynx, fauces, and soft palate. All 
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