MORBID ANATOMY . 59 



more or less stasis of blood in the portal circulation which in 

 turn impairs the digestive functions of the stomach. The 

 swine-plague bacteria in the lungs in the later stages of the 

 pneumonia may be coughed up in the contents of the bronchial 

 tubes, swallowed and passed through the impaired stomach 

 unharmed into the intestines. The stagnation of the feces in 

 the large intestine furnishes the bacteria an opportunity to 

 cause inflammation with exudation of the mucous membrane. 

 The tendency of swine-plague bacteria to cause fibrinous in- 

 flammatory deposits on serous membranes may serve to explain 

 such action on mucous membranes. 



There is general congestion with resulting degeneration 

 of the parenchyma of the spleen, kidnej'sand liver in the acute 

 septicaemic forms of the disease. In these cases the specific 

 bacterium is easily obtained from the abdominal organs. In 

 brief, the lesions of swine plague as they appear in various 

 outbreaks may be summarized in four classes, namely : 



1 . Acute septicaemia form in which the lesions are char- 

 acterized by a general hyperaemic condition with possibly 

 hemorrhages on the serous membranes and in the parenchyma- 

 tous organs. No localized lesions. 



2. Cases of pneumonia with or without pleuritis. The 

 other organs remaining normal in appearance. 



3. Cases where either in addition to, or possibly in the 

 absence of, the lung lesions there are marked anatomical 

 changes in the mucosa of the digestive tract and possibly in 

 the lymphatic glands. 



4. Cases of mixed infection, especially with hog cholera, 

 where in addition to the swine plague lesions which may be 

 more or less modified, there are those, especially of the digestive 

 tract, characteristic of the accompanying disease. 



In order to present as clear a picture as possible of the 

 findings in a case of this disease, I have appended the pub- 

 lished autopsy notes of one animal. (Smith's report on swine 

 plague, p. 62.) 



"Pig died yesterday, put on ice. Weighs about 30 pounds. Skin on 

 ventral aspect of body more or less reddened ; over the sternum a few 

 excoriations. The enlarged inguinal glands show as lumps under the 



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