198 SYMPTOMATIC ANTHRAX 



skin becomes dr}- and parchment like, cool to the touch and 

 painless upon pressure. If lanced, a dark reddish, froth}' 

 fluid flows from the wound. It emits a disagreeable odor. 

 In some cases there is but one swelling but usually there are 

 two or more which may become confluent. The lymph glands 

 adjacent to the swellings are much enlarged. 



Hun has pointed out the interesting fact that in a very 

 large percentage of cases the swellings appear on the right 

 side. There seems to be no explanation given for this localiza- 

 tion. In this country, records are wanting of observations on 

 this point. 



Arloing has called attention to a mild form of this disease 

 in which the symptoms are slight debility , loss of appetite and 

 slight local swelling. 



§ 156. Morbid anatomy. After death the carcasses of 

 animals which have died of this disease soon become distended 

 with gas. This is due in part to the fermentation in the 

 digestive tract and in part to the formation of gas in the sub- 

 cutaneous tissues due to the presence of the specific bacillus. 

 The subcutaneous distension is especially marked in the region 

 of the swellings but it extends for a considerable distance from 

 these foci in the direction of least resistance. The tympanitic 

 condition often causes the two legs on the upper side of the 

 carcass to extend out straight without touching the ground. 

 A dark, blood-colored, frothy discharge flows from the nostrils 

 and anus. Decomposition takes place very rapidh' except in 

 the affected muscles which retain a sweetish-sour odor for a 

 considerable time after other parts of the carcass have become 

 putrid. 



The skin covering the swellings is often affected with dry 

 gangrene. The subcutaneous connective tissue is yellow, gelat- 

 inous, infiltrated with blood and bubbles of gas which escape if 

 the tumor is incised. The muscles underneath the ttimors are of 

 a dirty brown or of a blackish color. At other places they 

 are dark red or dark yellow and, when exposed for some time 

 to the air, they may have a golden lustre. The}' are brittle, 

 putrid and very rich in fluids. They crackle on palpation. 

 When incisions are made into them, blood of a frothy, 



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