Purulent Infectioji of the Navel 1009 



bacteria and their products enter the blood stream, the symptoms 

 are wholly different from those of the local disease. The coagu- 

 lated blood within the umbilic vein breaks up under bacterial 

 invasion, liquifies, and may be partly discharged into the hepatic 

 vein from the central end of the umbiHc vein, and externally from 

 the stump of the cord as a dirty, flocculent, reddish-gray liquid, 

 consisting of the disintegrated blood clot mingled partly with pus.' 

 The entire lumen of the umbilic vein has become a suppu- 

 rating cavity. The tissues about the umbihcus are slightly, if at 

 all swollen, but the umbiHc stump is swollen, tense, glistening, 

 and projects out from the umbilic ring as an elongated cone, 

 having in its center a very small opening, from which the dis- 

 charge appears. This discharge may occur as early as the 3rd or 

 4th day after birth, and may continue for a period of one, two, 

 or even more weeks, should the animal survive. During the 

 continuation of the discharge from the umbilic vein through the 

 stump, the hairs about the navel are kept befouled and moist. 

 Usually the adjacent hairs become matted together, and may 

 more or less hide the broken end of the stump. lyater the be- 

 fouled, matted hairs drop away, leaving a depilated, naked surface. 



Soon after the commencement of suppuration in the umbilic 

 vein, there frequently occurs also a corresponding infection in 

 the broken end of the urachus, which results in the duct becom- 

 ing reopened, with a consequent dribbling of urine from the 

 navel, which adds to the moist condition of the diseased part and 

 gives to it the odor of decomposed urine. Usually this condition 

 is attributed to ' ' persistent ' ' urachus, but according to our ob- 

 servations, this designation is ordinarily erroneous, since the 

 open condition of the urachus with dribbling of the urine is gen- 

 erally secondary. 



In the more serious cases of navel infection, the local symptoms 

 are so insignificant in a general way that they may wholly 

 escape the observation of the owner or caretaker. The first 

 signs of disease which he notes are the more serious systemic dis- 

 turbances, because of the entrance of the infection into the 

 general circulation. When the young animal has reached the 

 age of two to four da3'S or somewhat more, there suddenly appears 

 in many cases a high fever, with loss of appetite and extreme 

 dullness. The udder of the mother becomes over-distended with 

 64 



