MORBID ANATOMY 279 



the inguinal glands shrink and become firm owing to the de- 

 velopment of fibroid tissue. The testicles which are either 

 swollen or shrunken, contain foci of suppuration or caseation. 

 The connective tissue of the epididymis and the cord is the seat 

 of a gelatinous exudate. The walls of the scrotum ma^' be 

 greatly thickened and the seat of abscesses or of caseous degen- 

 erations. In advanced cases the testicles are usually abnor- 

 mally small even if the scrotal mass is enormously distended. 

 The sheath and penis may be the seat of more or less numerous 

 ulcers and swellings. Contraction and contortions of the penis 

 are not uncommon. It may, however, retain its normal dimen- 

 sions. The walls of the lymphatics in the inguinal region 

 may be the seat of hyperplasia, the thickening causes them to 

 stand out like cords as in glanders. In the advanced stages 

 the muscles, especially those of the hind limbs, become pale 

 and atrophied. The nerve centers undergo profound changes 

 which have been studied by Thanhoffer, The pia mater in 

 the affected part of the spinal cord is the seat of active conges- 

 tion and thickening. The central canal of the cord is dilated 

 more at one point than another, contains more than the nor- 

 mal amount of liquid and the neuroglia around it is thickened 

 and fibrous. The sub.stances of the cord, both white and gray, 

 show congestion, blood staining, at points foci of softening and 

 at others induration (hyperp]a.sia of the neurogliaj. The nerve 

 cells are modified in various ways, some being granular, some 

 discolored by fine granular pigment, some having enlarged 

 and multiplied nuclei and some show vacuoles. The nerve 

 filaments often .show a granular degeneration extending from 

 the nerve cell to the axis cylinder. The latter is liable to be 

 varicosed or enormously enlarged. In the affected portion of 

 the cord leucocytes are numerous and there is often hyper- 

 plasia. The neuroglia tend to increase and apart from the foci 

 of softening tend to give a special firmness to the substance. 

 The subarachnoid and subdural fluid is increased and there may 

 be at the roots of the spinal nerves, especially in the dorsal 

 and lumbar regions, a gelatinoid exudate investing the nerve, 

 distending the connective tissue beneath the neurilemma and 

 even occupying the interval between the nerve filaments. 



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