458 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



mane at cloudiness of the cornea either diffuse or in spots (leucoma) 

 is the result. The mucous membrane of the mouth, nose, sinuses of 

 the head, throat, and lower respiratory passages are also involved. It 

 is first catarrhal in character, but soon a false or diphtheritic mem- 

 brane is formed, with the production of shallow ulcers. There is 

 dribbling of saliva from the mouth and discharge from the nose, which 

 is at first watery, becoming thicker and mixed with blood and small 

 masses of cast-off croupous membrane, causing a very fetid odor. 

 These croupous areas when they form in the throat, larynx, or wind- 

 pipe may lead to narrowing of these passages, with consequent diffi- 

 cult breathing and even suffocation. Various respiratory murmurs 

 may also be heard, caused by the to-and-fro movement of mucus and 

 inflammatory deposits along the air passages. There is also inflam- 

 mation of the horn core with consequent loosening of the horn shell, 

 and the horns are thus readily knocked off by the uneasy, blind suf- 

 ferer. The animal may refuse all food from the time of the initial rise 

 of temperature, or in less severe cases, and especially when the lesions 

 of the digestive tract are not so marked, the appetite may remain 

 until the disease is well advanced. Constipation is quite common at 

 the commencement of the attack, followed by diarrhea and severe 

 straining, the evacuations becoming very soft, fetid, and streaked 

 with blood. Cases have been reported of the evacuation of desqua- 

 mated patches of diphtheritic membrane from the intestinal mucosa 

 6 to 9 feet in length. The kidneys and bladder are usually inflamed, 

 the urine being voided with difficulty and the animal evincing signs 

 of pain. Inflammatory elements, as albumen, casts, etc., may be seen 

 on examination of the urine. In cows the mucous membrane of the 

 vestibule is congested, swollen, and may contain ulcers and an exces- 

 sive quantity of mucus. Abortion is not infrequent, following a 

 severe attack during advanced pregnancy. In connection with these 

 various symptoms there may be much uneasiness on the part of the 

 animal, leading in some cases to madness and furious delirium, in 

 others to spasms and convulsions or paralysis. A vesicular eruption 

 of the skin may occur, seen principally between the toes and on the 

 inside of the flank and in the armpits, with subsequent loss of hair 

 and epidermis. 



Like other infectious diseases, malignant catarrh pursues a longer 

 or shorter course in accordance with the severity of the attack. In 

 acute cases death is said to take place three to seven days after the 

 appearance of symptoms. Recovery, if it occurs, may take three or 

 four weeks. According to statistics, from 50 to 90 per cent of the 

 affected animals die. 



If animals which have died of this disease be examined, there will., 

 be occasionally found, in addition to the changes of the mucous mem- 

 brane of mouth and nasal cavities referred to above, shallow ulcers in 

 these situations. These necrotic processes may pass beneath tha 



