122 DISEASES OF CATTLE . 



darnel (Lolium temulentum), the kidneys are found violently con- 

 gested with black blood. Also in the indigestions that result from 

 the eating of partially ripened corn and millet some congestion of 

 the kidneys is an attendant phenomenon. 



Cruzel claims that the disease as occurring locally is usually not 

 alone from the acrid and resinous plants charged with inducing hema- 

 turia, but also from stinking chamomile (Anthemis cotula) and field 

 poppy when used in the fresh, succulent condition ; also from the great 

 prevalence of dead caterpillars on the pasture, or from dead Spanish 

 flies in the stagnant pools of water. The fresh plants are believed to 

 be injurious only by reason of a volatile oil which is dissipated in dry- 

 ing. In the case of the stagnant water it may be questioned whether 

 the chemical products of the contained ferments (bacteria) are not 

 more frequently the cause of the evil than the alleged Spanish flies, 

 though these are hurtful enough when present. 



Inflammation of the kidneys may further be a form or an extension 

 of a specific contagious disease, such as erysipelas, rinderpest, septi- 

 cemia, or even of poisoning by the spores of fungi. Rivolta reports 

 the case of a cow with spots of local congestion and blood staining in 

 the kidney, the affected parts being loaded with bacteria. Unfortu- 

 nately he neither cultivated the bacteria nor inoculated them, and 

 thus the case stands without positive demonstration that these were 

 the cause of disease. 



The symptoms of nephritis are in certain cases very manifest, and 

 in others so hidden that the existence of the affection can only be cer- 

 tainly recognized by a microscopic examination of the urine. In vio- 

 lent cases there is high fever, increase of the body temperature to 

 103° P. and upward; hurried breathing, with catching inspiration; 

 accelerated pulse; dry, hot muzzle; burning of the roots of the horns 

 and ears, loss of appetite, suspended rumination, and indications of 

 extreme sensitiveness in the loins. The patient stands with back 

 arched and hind legs extended backward and outward, and passes 

 water frequently, in driblets, of a high color and specific gravity, con- 

 taining albumen and microscopic casts. (PL XI, fig. 5. ) When made 

 to move, the patient does so with hesitation and groaning, especially if 

 turned in a narrow circle; and when pinched on the flank, just beneath 

 the lateral bony processes of the loins, especially on that side on which 

 the disease predominates, it flinches and groans. If the examination 

 is made with the oiled hand introduced through the last gut (rectum), 

 the pressure upward on the kidneys gives rise to great pain and 

 efforts to escape by moving away and by active contractions of the 

 rectum for the expulsion of the hand. Sometimes there is a distinct 

 swelling over the loins or quarter on one or both sides. In uncas- 

 trated males the testicle on the affected side is drawn up, or is alter- 

 nately raised and dropped. In all there is a liability to tremors of 

 the thigh on the side affected. 



