PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 387 



Specific agent responsible for this affection is the 

 septic vibrio of Pasteur. [Koch designates it as the 

 "bacillus of malignant oedema." (L. A. M.)]- The disease 

 usually originates from an anfractuous wound, and it mani- 

 fests itself by necrosis of the affected tissues, by the produc- 

 tion of gas in the areolar tissue and by general symptoms of 

 exceptional gravity. Its progress is rapid and termination us- 

 ually fatal. It is a grave disease, and, like tetanus, it consti- 

 tutes one of the most fearful complications of wounds. "It 

 is," says Pasteur, "putrefaction of the living subject." 



It was for a long time confounded, in veterinary practice, 

 with purulent infection or putrid infection. It is now known 

 to differ from these pathological states and to have nothing 

 in common with them, as Colin states, "except septicity." 



SYNONYMS. — The disease is known by several differ- 

 ent names: (i) Traumatic gangrene. (Renault). (2) Acute 

 purulent oedema. (Pigoraff). (3) Thundering, encroaching 

 and instantaneous gangrene, and gangrenous septicaemia. 

 (Chaveau and Arloing). (4) Very acute septicaemia, gaseous 

 septicaemia, traumatic emphysema, gangrene with emphyse- 

 ma, malignant oedema (Koch), and bronzed erysipelas. 



HISTORY. — Malignant oedema was well known to the 

 old veterinarians. It was one of the formidable complica- 

 tions of "ante-Lister" surgery. At Alfort, Bartholemy and 

 Dupity attempted to reproduce it by placing putrefactive 

 matter into the tissues of a horse. Vatel pointed it out as a 

 sequel of setons. "In the course of the year 1825," says 

 Renault, "malignant oedema was so frequent after the appli- 

 cation of setons that many veterinarians discontinued their 

 use." In 183 1 many horses of the eleventh artillery corps 

 that were sent to Alfort were attacked with pulmonary dis- 

 eases, and many of them died after the application of the 

 seton as a counter-irritant. The frequency of these cases 

 enabled Renault to study the disease carefully from the 



