Symptoms. 745 



sheep in the fourth month, and swine in the eighth to twelfth 

 week; at times the abortion takes place in an earlier or later 

 period of pregnancy. 



Animals which are pregnant for the first time, as a rule abort at an earlier 

 period of gestation than do older ones or those which have previously aborted. 

 The Danish veterinarians observed that abortion would most often occur in cattle 

 during the fifth or sixth mouth, but in the beginning of an outbreak, eases also 

 occurred in the third or fourth month. In mares Konge saw it occur in one-third 

 of the cases in six months, in one-fifth in 7-8 months; Guillerey as a rule in 4-7 

 months; Poijakow, on the other hand, reports most of the cases as occurring 

 from the ninth to eleventh month of gestation. According to the experiments of 

 Berger sows abort in the tenth to twelfth week of pregnancy; according to those 

 of Pritsche in eight to twelve weeks. 



The abortion is usually preceded by a catarrh of the genital 

 passages. With the moderate swelling of the lips of the vulva 

 the vaginal mucous membrane becomes reddened and reddish 

 nodules, like millet seeds in size (swollen follicles) appear on 

 its surface. At the same time there appears from the vagina 

 a mucous or muco-purulent, exceptionally bloody, and always 

 odorless discharge which in cows is reddish-gray or yellowish, 

 in mares and sows whitish-gray in color. The milk production 

 becomes simultaneously diminished, the milk having a colostrum- 

 like appearance and coagulating on boiling. 



Two to three days after the appearance of the first 

 catarrhal symptoms the abortion usually takes place with mod- 

 erate pains and with mild general manifestations. Should the 

 abortion occur in an early period of gestation the fetal mem- 

 branes are expelled together with the fetus. On the other hand 

 in abortions taking place at a later stage of gestation the after- 

 birth is passed off subsequently to the fetus, and it is not a 

 rare occurrence to have it retained for some time. Following 

 the abortion a continuous vaginal discharge is always observed 

 for one or two weeks. The secretion which is then dirty brown 

 or reddish-brown, odorless, or somewhat fetid, may accumulate 

 in the uterus, and from time to time be discharged under 

 straining. Gradually the discharge becomes diminished, and 

 finally il disappears entirely, still in spite of their otherwise 

 healthy appearance the animals either do not conceive, or if they 

 do, they abort at an earlier or later stage of gestation, and in 

 rare cases this may be repeated more than once. Abortion 

 reappears as a rule in cases when copulation occurs shortly 

 after the first abortion, or when the vaginal discharge was still 

 present, whereas in cases where copulation occurs several 

 months after the abortion normal births are more likely to 

 follow. 



Fetuses aborted at early periods of gestation are usually 

 dead, those however that are expelled at a later period are 

 not seldom born alive. Prematurely born calves often emit 

 a loud prolonged bellowing, which reminds one of the howling 

 of a rabid dog. Nocard attributes this to a diseased condition 

 of the medulla. Poorly developed fetuses mostly die within 



