542 DISEASES OP THE HOBSE. 



grass gets low they crop it close to the ground, pull up the roots 

 around which the virus may be lodged, and under these conditions 

 the animals are more apt to have abrasions of the lips or tongue by 

 contact with dried stubble and the dirt on the roots; this favors the 

 introduction of the germs into the system. The virus may be intro- 

 duced with feed and enter the blood-vessel system from the stomach 

 and intestines. If in the dust, dried hay, or on the parched pasture 

 of late summer, the virus may be inhaled and be absorbed from the 

 lining of the lungs. If in harness leather, it needs but an abrasion 

 of the skin, as the harness rubs it, to transfer the spore from the 

 leather to the circulation of the animal. 



The writer saw a case of anthrax occur in a groom from the use of 

 a new horse brush. The strap which passes over the back of the hand 

 inoculated an abrasion on the knuckle of the first finger, and in 

 12 hours a " pustule " had formed and the arm had become infected. 



Symftorm. — The symptoms of anthrax usually develop with ex- 

 treme rapidity. The horse is dejected and falls into a state of pro- 

 found stupor, attended with great muscular weakness. The feeble, 

 indolent animal, if forced to move, drags its legs. There are severe 

 chills, agitation of the muscles, symptoms of vertigo, and at times 

 colicky pains. The mucous membranes turn a deep ocher or bluish- 

 red color. The body temperature is rapidly elevated to 104° or 

 105° F. The breathing is increased to 30 or 40 respirations in the 

 minute and the pulse is greatly accelerated, but while the arteries 

 are soft and almost imperceptible, the heart beats can be felt and 

 heard, violent and tumultuous. In some cases, when inoculation is 

 through the sMn, large subcutaneous swellings appear; these may 

 involve a leg, a shoulder, one side of the body, or the neck or head. 

 The swelling is at first hot and painful, but afterwards it becomes 

 necrotic and sensation is lost. The symptoms last but two, three, or 

 four days at most, when the case usually terminates fatally. An 

 examination of the blood shows a dark fluid which will not clot, and 

 which remains black after exposure to the air. After death the 

 bodies putrefy rapidly and bloat up ; the tissues are filled with gases, 

 and a bloody foam exudes from the mouth, nostrils, and anus, and 

 frequently the mucous membranes of the rectum protrude from the 

 latter. The hairs detach from the skin. Congestion of all the organs 

 and tissues is found, with interstitial hemorrhages. The muscles are 

 friable and are covered with ecchymotic spots. This is especially 

 marked in the heart. 



The black, uncoagulated, and incoagulable blood shows an iri- 

 descent scum on its surface, which is due to the fat of the animal dis- 

 solved by the ammonia produced by the decomposed tissues. The 

 serum oozes out of every tissue and contains broken-down blood, 

 which, when examined microscopically, is found to have the red 



