Granular Venereal Disease of Cows 1081 



The symptoms in this herd were far more intense than those 

 observed in Herd i. In the cows and heifers which had calved 

 or aborted, and in some of the virgin heifers, there was present 

 a very noticeable muco-purulent vulvar discharge, which soiled 

 the external portions of the vulva and the contiguous portion of 

 the tail. The discharge adhered especially to the tuft of hairs 

 at the inferior commissure of the vulva. Sometimes the muco- 

 purulent discharge dried upon the vulvar tuft as dirty brownish 

 crusts ; at other times the moist, sticky discharge hung down 

 in ropy masses several inches long. Similar masses of discharge 

 were observed upon the ventral and lateral surfaces of the tail. 



Upon separating the vulvar lips, there was observed, in many 

 cases, adherent masses of muco-purulent secretions. Frequently, 

 when parting the vulvar lips, the muco-purulent masses stretched 

 across from side to side as adherent, tenacious strings, not losing 

 their continuity until the walls of the vulva had been parted for 

 a distance of two, three, or more inches. The discharges were 

 generally tenacious, stringy, white, or rarely faintly yellowish, 

 and more or less opaque. In some instances, the discharge was 

 flocculent, and, upon separating the vulvar lips, the mucosa was 

 seen to be dotted over with pale yellow, repulsive-looking, fiat 

 masses, o. i to i cm. in diameter. In one diseased cow, when- 

 ever the vulvar lips were separated and the clitoris pressed from 

 beneath, approximately one to two cc of a thick white pus were 

 discharged from the prepuce of the clitoris. In addition to the 

 vulvar discharges mentioned, muco-purulent discharges emanated 

 from the vagina and the uterus. More than 2 % of the affected 

 cows had pyometra following parturition or abortion, and showed 

 the same character of discharge as pyometra from other causes. 



The granular lesions in the vulvar mucosa were very much 

 more pronounced than in Herd i. In the milder cases, the 

 granules were few in number, and grouped largely about the 

 clitoris. They were arranged in irregular, indistinct rows, cor- 

 responding to the ridges in the mucous membrane. According 

 to the severity of the case, the granules spread forward toward 

 the vagina and upward along the sides of the vulva, to finally 

 converge and meet on the roof of the vulva. Fig. 154. repre- 

 sents a comparatively mild case as related to the area involved 

 and the profusion of granules. As the superficial area of the 



