Q4 SUPPURATIVE CELLULITIS 
bacilli, Bacillus enteritidis, Bacillus paratyphosus A and B. and 
Bacillus typhi. 
Infectious suppurative cellulitis of the limbs. Cattle and sheep 
occasionally suffer from an inflammatory condition of the sub- 
cutaneous tissues, of the lower extremities. Frequently the morbid 
process extends beneath the hoof, causing it to slough or to undergo 
resulting disintegration. When this condition exists, the affection 
is frequently called “‘foot rot.” If the inflammatory process attacks 
the skin also, the condition is designated erysipelas. If it becomes 
circumscribed, resulting in a local suppuration, an abscess or an ulcer 
may be the result. The investigations which have been made 
concerning the cause of these lesions point to an infection, probably 
through some slight abrasion of the skin near the hoof. Thus far, 
the results show streptococci* to be the etiological factors in the 
majority of these cases. It frequently happens that a number of 
animals subjected to the same conditions are attacked at the same 
time. giving rise to a condition resembling an epizodtic. In cattle 
the lesions that have been described were, within certain limits, 
uniform in all of the affected animals. Usually but one foot or leg 
was attacked, although there were numerous exceptions. The first 
symptom noticed was a swelling, which usually appeared in the lower 
part of the leg, most often in the pastern. In some animals the 
swelling was restricted to a small area, but often it extended up 
the leg to and even above the knee or hock joint. There was evi- 
dence of pain. As the inflammatory process continued the sub- 
cutaneous tissue became indurated, the skin thick and dry, and later 
it would crack, usually but not always, below the dew claws, and a 
thick creamy pus would be discharged. After discharging, the swell- 
ing subsided and the normal condition was rapidly restored. The 
time necessary for the suppurative process and recovery to take 
place varied in different animals, but as a rule from ten to fifteen days 
were required. The exceptions were largely in those cases where 
the inflammatory process extended down to the coronary cushion. 
In these there was more or less sloughing of the hoof. These cases 
were the most serious. 
*Lucet has reported the results of bacteriological examinations of fifty-two abscesses 
in cattle. From nine of these steptococci were obtained in pure culture, and in ten 
cases they were associated with other bacteria — Annales de l’ Institut Pasteur. Vol. 
VII (1893), p. 324. ‘ 
