DISEASES OF THE BLOOD. 69 



margins become rounded and its surface rough from 

 thickening of its capsule. The Malpighian corpuscles may 

 be enlarged to the size of a pea. The lymphatic glands 

 and medulla undergo similar hypertrophies in other cases, 

 and lymphoid tissue may be developed in other pai'ts of 

 the body such as the liver and kidneys. Leukaemia is 

 best diagnosed by observation of the blood from the living 

 animal. After a progressive anaemia, extending over 

 from three weeks to five months, the patient dies. No 

 therapeutic method has yet been pointed out likely to 

 affect a cure. Innorenza, of the Naples Veterinary School, 

 has described this fatal disorder as a sequela of distemper.* 

 Jaundice or Ictekus is bile-poisoning of the blood ; a 

 condition of frequent occurrence in the dog, especially as 

 a symptom of liver disorder. It is found in hepatitis, 

 obstruction of the bile-ducts by inspissated gall or by 

 calculi, in the earlier stages of malignant liver disease, and 

 especially in gastro-duodenal congestion, where the tumid 

 condition of the mucous membrane prevents the free pour- 

 ing of bile into the bowel. Occasionally it results inde- 

 pendently of appreciable disorder either of liver or alimen- 

 tary canal, where the activity of the bile- secreting elements 

 has become torpid after over-fatigue, sudden chills, ex- 

 posure, or injury of the dog. Animals which have received 

 over-doses of emetic and purgative medicine suffer from it, 

 as also watchdogs constantly tied up. " In-whelp bitches 

 occasionally become jaundiced from uterine pressure, which 

 generally disappears after parturition " (Hill) . This disease 

 is known to sporting men and kennel men as " the yellows." 

 It is found in its most acute form in sporting dogs, especially 

 greyhounds, whereas it appears in fancy breeds only as a 

 primary stage in liver degeneration, or as an important sym- 

 ptom inintestinal disorders such as intussusception of the 

 bowels. Constipation has been spoken of as a common 

 cause, but it would be more correct to consider the two con- 

 ditions simultaneous results of torpidity of the liver and 

 want of exercise or suitable food. The abuse of emetics 

 and purgatives gives rise to jaundice through the turges- 

 * ' Veterinary Journal,' iv, p. 60, 



