388 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



cause, there are many secondary causes. The most important of 

 these in pyemia is a break in continuity of the protective covering, as 

 a wound, which affords an entrance into the tissues for the organisms. 

 Among the different varieties of wounds may be mentioned cuts, 

 bruises, punctures, burns, chemical or frozen wounds, and compound 

 fractures of bones. Injuries received during parturition, stoppage 

 of the milk ducts, and infection of the umbilicus in the newly born 

 are also frequent causes of pyemia. Septicemia usually follows sur- 

 gical wounds, local suppuration, enteritis, bronchitis — in fact, wherever 

 there is a local lesion of any kind permitting germs to enter the blood. 

 Septicemia was formerly applied to designate the condition in which 

 the organisms were localized, but in which their toxins were diffused 

 in the blood. Pyemia was made to represent that condition where the 

 organisms were localized, but in which the pus was transported by 

 the blood. These terms now are applied to conditions in which both 

 the organisms and their toxins, or the pus, are present in the blood. 

 The term septicemia is indicated where intoxication is the more pro- 

 nounced symptom and pyemia where pus formation and metastatic 

 or secondary abscess formation are observed. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms of both diseases include primarily a 

 high fever (104° to 107° F.). Coupled with this there is disinclination 

 to move, the animal is depressed and not cognizant of its surround- 

 ings. The pulse is rapid, small, and feeble, respiration increased, 

 mucous membrane injected, swollen, and of a yellowish tinge. Appe- 

 tite is lost and death follows in the case of septicemia in from two to 

 four days. In pyemia the symptoms come on more slowly and are not 

 so intense as in septicemia, while the course of the disease is longer, 

 lasting from six days to four weeks. The mortality is not so great as 

 in septicemia, but the period of convalescence is always long. 



Lesions. — Septicemia is characterized by the destructive changes in 

 the blood, which is chocolate color, noncoagulable, and swarms with 

 bacteria. The lining membranes of the heart are studded, with red 

 spots, often running together to form a large hemorrhagic area. The 

 • lungs, liver, and kidneys may also show these hemorrhages. The 

 spleen is enlarged and full of black blood. The cadaver decomposes 

 very rapidly and in some cases forms great quantities of fetid gas. 

 In pyemia, in addition to these lesions, there are abscesses formed in 

 the various organs throughout the body. If the disease develops 

 slowly a postmortem shows these abscesses to be the chief altera- 

 tions. The pus content is usually greenish, stained with blood, and 

 contains strings of fibrous tissue and necrosed matter. 



Treatment— Treatment is almost futile in advanced cases of either 

 disease. Septicemia is usually fatal and pyemia frequently so. Pre- 

 vention, and the immediate treatment of local infections, are the 

 surest means of combating these diseases. For local treatment of 

 wounds the usual antiseptics are indicated, such as 5 per cent creolin, 



