INFECTIOUS CELLULITIS 1 3 



country. Ward and Fisher are making careful tests of his 

 method with quite satisfactory results. In our cases the lung 

 complications did not occur. The important finding of Nocard 

 should stimulate further investigation into this mo.st important 

 trouble in this country. As the remedy which he recom- 

 mends and which has given good results is simply one to 

 prevent infection of the ruptured cord, the conclusion tends to 

 the wound infection origin of this disease. 



§ 10. Infectious suppurative cellulitis. Cattle and 

 sheep suffer from more or less extensive inflammatory condi- 

 tions of the subcutaneous tissues especially of the lower ex- 

 tremities. Frequently the morbid process extends beneath the 

 hoof causing it to slough or to undergo resulting disintegration 

 changes. When this condition exists, the affection is usuall5' 

 called "foot rot." If the inflammatory process attacks the skin 

 also, the condition is often designated erysipelas. If it becomes 

 circumscribed, resulting in a local suppuration, an abscess or an 

 ulcer is the result. The investigations which have been made 

 concerning the cause of these lesions point to the conclusion 

 that they result from an infection, probably through some 

 slight abrasion of the skin. Thus far, the results show strep- 

 tococci* to be the etiological factors in the majority' of these 

 cases. It frequently happens that a number of animals sub- 

 jected to the same conditions are attacked at the same time, 

 giving rise to a condition resembling an epizootic. In cattle, 

 cases studied by the writer, — the lesions were, within certain 

 limits, uniform in all of the affected animals. ITsuallj^ 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 the hock joint. There was evidence of pain. As the in- 

 flammatory process continued, the subcutaneous tissue became 



*Lucet has reported the results of bacteriologic examinations of fifty- 

 two abscesses in cattle. From nine of these streptococci were obtained 

 in pure culture, and in ten cases they were associated with other bacteria. 

 —Annates de V Institui Pasteur. Vot . VII ( iSgs) p. 324. 



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