954 Veterinary Obstetrics 



atrophy. The atrophy may be intensified and increased by 

 hyperplasia of the inter-lobular connective tissue septa. 



Treatment. The treatment of mammitis is necessarily unsat- 

 isfactory. 



The anatomy of the gland is such that when the tissues be- 

 come infected there is no known method of reliable disinfection. 

 Acute inflammation of the parenchyma at once causes the milk 

 ducts and acini to become filled with exudate. Into these 

 blocked passages we are powerless to introduce remedies, and 

 from them we are alike powerless to extract the exudate. The 

 gland is firmly bound down by its very tense fibro-elastic cap- 

 sule, derived from the abdominal tunic. When the imprisoned 

 gland becomes inflamed and swollen, great pressure is at once 

 exerted upon its substance by the unyielding capsule, its circula- 

 tion is impeded or suspended, and the infecting agent is afforded 

 an excellent opportunity for rapid multiplication and destructive 

 activity in the weakened tissues. Further complications arise 

 from the dependent position of the gland, which interferes seri- 

 ously with the return of the venous blood. 



As in all diseases where no specific method of handling has 

 been devised, so in mammitis, an almost endless variety of means 

 have been suggested, tried, approved or condemned. It is im- 

 practicable to relate each method of handling, nor would it be 

 profitable. 



The various forms of handling may be more or less definitely 

 classified. 



I. Disinfection. Since acute mammitis is referable to infec- 

 tion, the most rational course for treatment, the one which 

 technically appeals most directly to reason, is disinfection. Un- 

 fortunately, as already stated, we have no efiicient plan for bring- 

 ing this about. Three plans for disinfection'.have been tried, 

 and each has had its champions, possibly because each possesses 

 some degree of efiiciency. 



a. Intra-mammary injections of disinfectants have long 

 been practiced and advised by some veterinarians, but the plan 

 has never acquired general adoption. Nocard, Franck and 

 other authorities have reported favorably. Vennerholm, Zschokke 

 and other equal authorities have failed to secure benefit from 

 this method of handling. In our hands, a 2 ©5% boric acid 

 solution, injected into the udder by gravity, has not only 



