Senecio Alkaloids and Hepatic Cirrhosis in Cattle. 



189 



The symptoms induced are of two kinds, acute and sub-acute. The acute 

 symptoms commence with nausea and salivation, extremely accelerated 

 respiration, and, somewhat later, violent clonic convulsions under large 

 doses. These acute symptoms generally pass off in the course of two or 

 three hours, and the animal appears perfectly well very often for the next 

 two or three days or longer. Some loss of weight may occur during this 

 time, and then the sub-acute symptoms are introduced by a stool of rather 

 loose consistency, loss of appetite, and in some cases vomiting. The animal 

 then becomes weak and disinclined to move, and passes into a condition of 

 apathy, stupor and coma, death following by failure of the respiration. 

 These later symptoms succeed each other rapidly, death occurring within 

 24 to 48 hours after the first sub-acute symptoms. 



Very similar symptoms were obtained in rats. The symptoms were the 

 same whether the drug was given hypodermically or by the mouth. Post- 

 mortem appearances varied a good deal in different animals. There was often 

 found an unusual amount of fluid in the abdominal cavity, sometimes of a 

 bright yellow colour. Small ecchymoses were sometimes found in the' 

 omentum, and fat deposits in the abdomen. The stomach contained black 

 masses of half-digested blood, and the duodenum also contained some effused 

 blood mixed with mucus. The liver was swollen and congested, and the' 

 gall-bladder was generally distended with very dark-coloured viscous bile, 

 which could only be expressed from it with difficulty. Small haemorrhages 

 were often found in the lungs, pancreas, kidney, and some other organs. 



Dr. C. Bolton kindly examined some of the organs microscopically and found 

 marked congestion and haemorrhages in the liver, the haemorrhages being in 

 most cases confined to the peripheral half of the lobules. The hepatic cells 

 in the centre of the lobule were often normal, but further outwards they 

 became distorted by the blood cells and stained badly, and towards the 

 interlobular vein they were quite colourless and evidently in process of 

 disintegration. Large areas of necrosis of the liver were found. In acute 

 poisoning the liver cells often contained globules of fat. There was some 

 infiltration of round cells round the portal canal, especially involving the 

 smaller bile ducts and extending upwards from them between the liver cells. 

 This feature was present in sub-acute cases, though it was more marked in 

 chronic poisoning. 



In chronic poisoning no symptoms, except loss of weight, were elicited 

 until the drug had been given for over a month. The animal then died with 

 the same appearances as in sub-acute poisoning. Post mortem the pyloric 

 end of the stomach contained a quantity of black clotted blood, the 

 duodenum had excessive mucous secretion, the liver was found in an advanced 



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