136 TUBERCULOSIS 



crease rapidly and terminate in death following coma or con- 

 vulsions. In tubercular disease of the bones and joints, the 

 parts are enlarged, there is loss of motion, pain and usually 

 abscess formation followed by the discharge of thick j-ellow 

 pus. In tuberculosis of the uterus or ovaries and sometimes 

 in peritoneal tuberculosis in the cow, the subject is almost 

 continualh' in heat. In tuberculosis of the uterus, there is 

 sometimes a discharge of thick, yellowish material mixed with 

 mucus and slime. In tuberculosis of the testicles the organs 

 become enlarged and hard. 



In all advanced cases the nutrition of the animal is inter- 

 fered with and, sooner or later, the "tuberculous cachexia" 

 appears. It is, however, in man}' cases remarkable to note the 

 extent of lesions in animals that are well nourished and pres- 

 ent no external signs of disease. Animals killed in prime 

 condition b>' the butcher are sometimes found to contain ex- 

 tensive and widely distributed lesions of tuberculosis. In 

 general tuberculosis, many of the symptoms described above 

 may occur simultaneous!}'. The symptoms of acute miliary 

 tuberculosis "galloping consumption" are rapid loss of flesh, 

 depression, poor appetite, cough, weakness, rapid breathing, 

 harsh respiratory sounds, some elevation in temperature, in- 

 creased pulse rate and, sometimes, enlarged lymphatic glands. 

 The course of this form of tuberculosis is always rapid and 

 terminates in death. Acute miliar\- tuberculosis occurs when 

 large numbers of tubercle bacilli are discharged into the blood 

 or lymph currents. They are then carried to other parts of the 

 body, filtered out in the capillaries of the lungs, liver, spleen, 

 kidneys and elsewhere, causing tubercular lesions in each of 

 these localities. The lesion from which the infectious material 

 entered the circulation may have been a comparatively small 

 nodule. This form of the disease is more likely to appear in 

 young animals than in adults, and is more common among 

 swine than in cattle. 



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