260 POISONING. 



Acute form : Symptoms. This form is exceptional in the ox, but 

 is more frequent in the sheep. In oxen the earlier symptoms point to 

 digestive disturbance, and consist of dulness, loss of appetite, colic, 

 sensibility of the abdomen, cessation of rumination (-\vithout tympanites), 

 and constipation. The excreta are hard, coated, and blackish in colour, 

 but not blood-stained. 



Diarrhoea follows, is accompanied by aggravation of the general symp- 

 toms, the temperature rises to 104° or 106° Fahr. (40° or 41° C), and 

 exhaustion is pronounced. Other, less characteristic, symptoms, such as 

 grinding of the teeth and mastication without food being present in 

 the mouth may accompany the above and arouse fears of peritonitis. 

 In sheep the dulness and prostration sho^Yn at first suggest the existence 

 of anthrax — a view strengthened by the fact that the respiration becomes 

 very frequent and the fever intense, whilst death may be rajjid, and may 

 sometimes occur with startling suddenness. 



Lesions. Bacteriological examination, or even a naked-eye examina- 

 tion, made immediately after death enables one easily to differentiate 

 between the two conditions. When the animals have died very rapidly— 

 in one night — lesions of enteritis alone are present. More marked cases 

 exhibit thickening and intense congestion of the mucous membrane of 

 the abomasum, which may be of a deep mahogany colour. 



The intestine itself is affected, and even though the glandular 

 epithelium is little changed, the intercellular spaces show ecchymoses 

 and multiple hffimorrhages, which give the contents of the digestive 

 tract the appearance of wine lees. 



The abdominal viscera scarcely present any characteristic lesions. 

 The liver has the appearance of having been boiled, as in many forms 

 of poisoning. The kidney is congested and blackish ; the spleen only 

 appears hypertrophied v^'hen post-mortem examination has been delayed 

 and micro-organisms from the intestine haA'e invaded the circulatory sys- 

 tem. After death the kidneys and spleen very rapidly undergo softening. 



Nervous form: Symptoms. Whilst in the first form the symptoms 

 appear especially due to diastatic ferments present in the pulp liquid, 

 in the nervous form they appear rather to result from the convulsing 

 and paralysing action of ptomaines. 



The ox seems more particularly susceptible to the action of the latter. 

 It shovi's symptoms resembling those of horses suffering from a severe 

 abdominal form of influenza : profound depression, mahogany-coloured 

 conjunctiva, lachrymation, infiltration of the cornea, high temperature 

 (104° to 106° Fahr.— 41° to 41-5° C), strong action of the heart, but 

 small pulse. The cerebral symptoms are especially marked. The animal 

 suffers from vertigo, and when excited, or when attempts are made to 

 administer medicine, it thrusts its head against the wall, as though 



