MORBID ANATOMY 



353 



§ 275. Morbid anatomy. In twelve animals which died 

 in cornstalk fields and were examined, post-mortem changes 

 were more or less advanced in the greater number. A few 

 were examined soon after death. The structural changes in 

 the organs were slight. This explains the statement of many 

 veterinarians that the organs of cattle dying of cornstalk disease 

 are normal in appearance. 



The only gross pathological changes observed were those 

 •of a hemorrhagic nature. The hemorrhages were mostly con- 

 fined to the serous membranes and especially those of the 

 heart. Ecchymoses were more or less numerous, however, 

 beneath the pleura and under the capsule of the liver and of 

 the spleen. The mucosa of the intestinal tract showed areas 

 in which the capillaries were deeply injected. Occasionally 

 there were hemorrhages. In one case there were pronounced 

 hemorrhagic areas in the heart muscle, aorta and pleura. In 

 most cases the liver was pale in color and the acini presented 

 deep reddish centers with pale peripheries. The inner and 

 middle zones of the lobules were more densely congested than 

 the peripheral ones. A layer several lobules in thickness 

 immediately beneath the capsule was usually more engorged 

 with blood than the deeper portions of the organ. In the more 

 densely injected areas not only the blood spaces were filled, but 

 the liver cells were also separated from each other b}' a space 

 of variable width containing blood corpuscles. In some cases 

 there were slight changes in the appearance of the cellular 

 protoplasm. 



In all of the animals examined, the hemorrhages were of 

 recent origin and the blood normal in its microscopic appear- 

 ance. There were no discolored areas indicative of old ecchy- 

 moses. The distribution and general character of the hemor- 

 rhages, which are the most conspicuous microscopic lesions 

 observed, are very similar to those described in certain cases 

 of vegetable poisoning, more particularly that of fern root. 



Although certain symptoms described by the owners were 

 referable to the nervous system, lesions were not discovered in 

 the brain or spinal cord excepting in one case in which there 

 was considerable hemorrhage beneath the pia mater. 



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