ANTHRAX 101 
Burnett found that the number of red corpuscles and the percentage 
of hemoglobin are reduced. In the chronic cases they tend to return 
to the normal condition. There was an increase in the number of 
lymphocytes and a decrease in the number of polynuclear leucocytes. 
In some cases there was a marked increase in the number of eosino- 
philes. No change from the normal was noted in the large mononu- 
clear leucocytes or in the mast cells. 
The bodies of animals which have died from anthrax are often weil 
nourished. Rigor mortis is absent and they decompose quickly. 
Very frequently blood flows from the natural openings of the body, 
and the rectum is sometimes prolapsed. 
All the foregoing lesions may be absent in very acute apoplectic 
cases. The specific organism is, however, always present in the 
cadaver. It is important to note that occasionally the usual changes 
indicated by the symptoms and the duration of the disease are not 
found on post-mortem examination. In one epizodtic, the writer 
saw an animal dead from subacute anthrax in which the blood and 
tissues were teeming with anthrax bacteria, yet the organs examined 
microscopically appeared to be normal. Other animals in the same 
outbreak exhibited the more usual anatomical changes. 
Diagnosis.* There are a number of methods for diagnosing an- 
thrax. The symptoms and lesions are of value but often they are not 
sufficiently characteristic to enable one to make a positive determina- 
tion. This must rest on the bacteriological examination and the 
specific reactions. 
Bacteriological. It was believed for many years that the bac- 
teriological examination for the diagnosis of anthrax was very simple 
and sure. That opinion is entertained by many veterinarians still. 
The facts are that many cases can be readily identified by this method 
if the tissues are fresh, but, on the other hand, there are those where it 
is impossible. The difficulties lie in several directions. The most 
important is the rapidity with which anthrax bacteria die in tissues 
where sporulation does not occur. For this reason it is not always 
possible to find the organisms in specimens sent to a laboratory. The 
*Veterinarians should recognize that anthrax is often very difficult to diagnose in the 
laboratory. The lesions are frequently localized and in such cases the specific organism 
is not always present in the general circulation or in other organs. In such cases the 
man who makes the post mortem examination must locate the lesions and select parts 
of the affected tissues for bacteriological examination. While the typical cases are 
readily detected, there are those where the limitations of the laboratory methods and 
the neglect cf the clinician in making the post mortem allow the disease to go undetected. 
