732 Ulcerative Lymphangioitls. 



History. This disease was first described by Nocard (1892 and 

 1896) as a specific morbid process, this author having demonstrated the 

 disease (in 59 horses suspected of having glanders) to be etiologically 

 different from glanders. Follov?ing the latter author MoUereau and 

 Vallee reported the disease from France, Darmagnac from Algeria, 

 while Schwartzkopf observed similar diseases in the Philippine Islands. 

 The identity of the disease, in the latter instance, has however not 

 as yet been definitely determined owing to the absence of bacteriological 

 evidence. 



Etiology. The cause of the disease is identical in all of 

 its characteristics with the bacillus of pseudotuberculosis of 

 Preisz and Nocard (see p. 626). 



Pathogenicity. Subcutaneous injection of the pure culture 

 in a horse or ass is followed by local suppuration ; the abscess 

 thus formed will break in the course of 6 to 10 days, whereupon 

 the contents are discharged and healing follows with the for- 

 mation of a scar (Nocard observed in one case only the develop- 

 ment of progressive inflammation of the lymphatics following 

 such inoculation). Intravenous injection produces at the most 

 a temporary febrile condition. 



Injection of pure cultures or of pus obtained from nodes 

 or ulcers into the abdominal cavity of a guinea pig is followed 

 by inflammation of the tunica albuginea of the testes which 

 is usually quite pronounced at the end of the 3d to the 5th 

 day and in the course of which abundant purulent, fibrinous 

 exudate collects between the tunics of these organs. Occa- 

 sionally death results by the end of the first week, post-mortem 

 examination revealing an exudative peritonitis in addition to 

 periorchitis. Highly virulent cultures may cause death in from 

 24 to 48 hours without involving the testes. 



Natural infection apparently takes place from wounds or 

 other solutions of continuity in the skin, and the fact that the 

 disease usually develops on the limbs seems to point to the 

 fetlocks as the ports of entrance of the infection, or the process 

 may be induced by the kick of a horse. However, the disease 

 does not usually spread direct from animal to animal, but the 

 bacilli probably gain access into the lymph spaces and the 

 cutis directly from the soil. 



Symptoms. Attended with diffuse swelling of the extremi- 

 ties of the limbs, isolated, firm, sharply circumscribed, sensitive 

 nodes appear on one or Ijoth hind legs; later these nodes rup- 

 ture and become transformed into irregular ulcers with bulging 

 but not thickened borders which at first discharge a creamy, but 

 subsequently a thinner, viscid purulent secretion. These ulcers 

 are not progressive in character and yield readily to antiseptic 

 treatment. This is, however, soon followed by the appearance 

 of fresh nodes in the neighborhood or in more remote regions 



