Granular Venereal Disease of Cows id^'j 



(pregnant?) and unexpectedly again show estrum (invisible 

 abortion?). Finally, in despair, they were sent to the butcher, 

 and the highly pedigreed animals of otherwise great promise be- 

 came a total loss. 



The majority of the heifers became pregnant, and carried the 

 fetus to the sixth, seventh, or eighth month, when they aborted, 

 or gave birth to a premature calf, which with careful handling 

 sometimes survived. After aborting, various troubles arose. 

 Many suffered from retained placenta. A few died from septic 

 metritis following the retained placenta. Some suffered severely 

 from chronic metritis or pyometra. Many of the aborted heifers 

 proved difficult or impossible of impregnation. 



Cystic degeneration of the ovaries and persistent hypertrophied 

 corporealutea abound in the herd. In one stable of 38 females, 

 manual examination of the internal genital organs was made, ex- 

 cept in pregnant animals. Of those examined, five had cystic 

 ovaries ; four had persistent, hypertrophied yellow bodies ; and 

 two had pyometra. One of the cows affected with pyometra also 

 had a cystic ovary, making five animals with cystic degeneration. 

 Thus, amongst 38 animals, 1 1 or 29% had disease of the ovaries 

 or uterus which would probably bar fecundation until properly 

 handled. 



In a second stable of 40 cows, preparatory to handling, man- 

 ual exploration was made per rectum, revealing cystic ovaries in 

 1 1 cases and persistent yellow bodies in 9 animals, or abnormal 

 ovaries in 50% of the cows. Some of these were not sufficiently 

 affected to clearly interfere with breeding ; others were badly de- 

 generated, and sterility very probable. Numerous cows re- 

 mained sterile after several breedings. One was nymphomaniac. 

 One heifer had aborted some months ago, and has not been ob- 

 served in estrum since. The right ovary contained a yellow 

 body i>^ inches in diameter, which was pressed out. Three weeks 

 later, a new yellow body of nearly the same size was again pres- 

 ent, in the same location as before, and it too was pressed out. 



The investigations in this herd thus indicate the correctness of 

 the views of Professor Hess, that ovarian and uterine diseases 

 very largely follow virulent attacks of the granular venereal dis- 

 ease. 



Observations in this herd carry us even further in one impor- 

 tant respect. The investigations indicate that in highly bred 



