272 PARASITES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



degree of colic, and frequently grind the teeth. Appetite is lost, thirst is 

 severe, and rumination ceases. Wasting makes rapid strides, the coat 

 stares, the animals have difficulty in standing on account of their weak- 

 ness, fever sets in, and the temperature rises to 40° C. This condition 

 may last from five to ten days and terminate either in recovery or death, 

 liecovery is frequently rapid in animals which have contiirued to eat, and 

 in which the acute period has been of short duration — five to seven days 

 at most. On the other hand, it is slow if the appetite has disappeared 

 and the acute period has been prolonged beyond ten days. 



The diarrhoea, which has lost its sanguinolent character towards the 

 sixth or eighth day, may continue for somewhat longer. The attacks of 

 straining become rare, and cease between the tenth and fifteenth days. 

 The appetite remains capricious for a long time. 



Convalescence is marked l)y alternate improvement and retrogression. 

 The animals are weak, and only recover quickly under energetic treatment 

 and forced feeding with concentrated digestible foods like milk, soup, 

 cooked grain, etc., administered for three weeks or more. 



Death may occur towards the tenth or fifteenth day from exhaustion. 

 Tlie patients become very anffimic and thin, the eyes are withdrawn into 

 the orbits, and the animals apj^ear indifferent to wdiat goes on about 

 them. They still groan feebly, occasionally grind the teeth, and lie con- 

 tinually on the chest vith the head extended. The body temperature 

 falls and death follows. 



In well-bred animals in good condition the disease sometimes assumes 

 a much graver and more rapidly progressive form, with peracute symp- 

 toms, and makes as many, if not more, victims than that previously 

 described. 



The process is as follows : After sufl'ering for a day from serous 

 diarrhcea, to ^Yhich the owners pay little attention, the animals show 

 sanguinolent diarrhcea ai:d pass blood clots. This is almost immediately 

 followed by very violent convulsive attacks — true eclampsia. The 

 animals are then unable to stand, lie on the side with the head 

 outstretched and resting on the ground, the eyes withdrawn into the 

 sockets and often showing pirouetting movements (nystagmus), the neck 

 drawn upwards and backwards (opisthotonos), and the limbs rigidly 

 extended. From time to time the whole body is shaken by extremely 

 violent convulsive movements. 



This condition, which is sometimes preceded by weakness of the hind 

 quarters and symptoms of locomotor ataxia and inco-ordination, may con- 

 tinue from six to thirty-six hours ; in nine cases out of ten it terminates 

 in death. 



Causation. On microscopic examination of the serous dejections 

 one finds distributed throughout the liquid mass very small numbers of 



