MALLEIN. 627 



the animal is free from glanders. The typical reactions of mallein 

 may be classed as local, consisting of a swelling at the seat of 

 inoculation ; and general, due to general disturbance, which is 

 best marked by a rise of temperature, and is also accompanied by 

 depression of spirits, debility, and loss of appetite. 



TESTING A HORSE FOR GLANDERS BY MEANS OF 

 MALLEIN. — The animal should be in a normal condition of rest, 

 and free from exciting or depressing influences. Note here the 

 remarks made on pp. 691 and 692, respecting increase of tempera- 

 ture caused by exposure to heat. The usual amount of noallein 

 employed for injection is 18 minims (one cubic centimetre). The 

 syringe should be carefully disinfected (p. 70) before use, especially 

 when several horses are being tested, in which case, neglect of 

 this precaution might allow the disease to be transmitted to 

 healthy animals. The best form of syringe is one with an asbestos 

 piston, as the whole instrument may then be sterilised by boiling 

 it in water for five minutes before use. The side of the neck is a 

 good site for the injection, because it offers a flat surface for the 

 observation of the expected swelling. The injection should be 

 made into the loose tissue immediately under the skin, and not 

 into the muscles of the part, as we shall see further on. Care 

 should be taken that no air passes along with the fluid from the 

 syringe, and that the whole of the mallein is injected. The tirae 

 for the injection (whether morning or evening) may be chosen, to 

 meet the convenience of the operator. The temperature of the 

 animal's rectum (p. 691) should be taken at the time of injection, 

 six hours after it, and every subsequent three hours, up" to the 

 fifteenth or eighteenth hour. 



The chief typical points about the local reaction to mallein are 

 that the swelling is large, hot, painful, and well defined, and that 

 it continues longer than an ordinary swelling produced by a similar 

 puncture would do. Its size is probably its least characteristic 

 feature. In interpreting the local reaction to mallein, attention 

 must be paid to two points, namely, the extent of the swelling, 

 and the period at which it reaches its maximum size. The rule 

 as regards the first of these is that in -the non-glandered horse, 

 the swelling which forms at the seat of infection is seldom or 

 never more than three inches in diameter, while in a glandered 

 horse, it is seldom or never less than five inches in diameter, and 

 not rarely it is nearly twice that. The rule regarding the second 

 point is that, in a non-glandered horse, the local swelling attains 

 its maximum size during the first fourteen or sixteen hours after 

 the injection, and then rapidly declines, so that it has nearly or 

 altogether disappeared by the twenty-fourth hour. In a horse 



40* 



