Actinomycosis. Lumpy-Jaw. 35 



Jibrous fodder ' t&nAing to scratch gums, cheeks and tongue and 

 open the way for the parasite. Peletti has found it specially 

 prevalent after an epizootic of foot and mouth disease on account 

 of the wounds and abrasions of the mucosa. In Eastern Europe, 

 where it is a common disease of the lips, the infection is to be at- 

 tributed to wounds sustained through the rough herbage of un- 

 cultivated lands. In old animals the carious cavities in diseased 

 teeth form a favorite starting point for the parasite, and in all 

 aXx^Q "Ca.^ ducts of glands va.2iy become the point of entry. It is 

 alleged that in many districts cases have increased materially 

 with the general use of barbed wire fences and the resulting skin 

 wounds. 



The disease is successfully transferred by inoculation as proved 

 by Johne, Israel, Crookshank, Rotter and Ponfick. A fragment 

 of granulation tissue inserted in the peritoneum of calves, and 

 less certainly of dogs or rabbits determines multiple tumors in 

 the course of three months. Successful inoculation with artificial 

 cultures have been made by Wolff, Israel and others. The re- 

 sulting peritoneal neoplasms had strong fibrous envelops and a 

 soft pulpy interior containing the parasite. In one case secondary 

 actinomycosis occurred in the liver, and in others artificial 

 cultures on agar were made from the tumors. 



Actinomyces. The parasite is found in the form of yellowish 

 or whitish granular bodies, quite visible to the naked eye, in the 

 pus of the sores, and in the granulation tissue of the tumor. If 

 the pus is shaken up in a test tube with salt and water these are 

 easily seen like small grains of sand (o. i to 0.5 mm.) sticking to 

 the sides of the tube, and their appearance is almost pathogno- 

 monic. In the diseased tissues there is found a mass of fine 

 filaments and cocci of various sizes and around this a variable 

 number of branches ending in clusters or tufts of clubshaped 

 cells in which the individual filaments terminate. These clusters 

 or follicles when young are soft and easily broken up or sectioned 

 for microscopic examination, but when old they become calcified, 

 and intensely hard and resistant, and must be treated with weak 

 acids before they can be prepared for the microscope. The sec- 

 tions or broken fragments of the granules show a beautiful con- 

 centric arrangement of club-shaped cells the thick ends forming 

 the periphery and the inner ends terminating in the filaments. 



