7(5 



The Rot in Sheep. 



be it quick or slow. They will also be modified by the circum- 

 stance of the animal having either sunk from the disease, or been 

 slaughtered in its early or late stages. The emaciated state of 

 the frame often strikes us with surprise, the dead animal appear- 

 ing to be little more than " skin and bone." The wool is found to 

 be harsh and dry, and easily to be pulled from its follicles. The 

 colour of the skin is pale, excepting perhaps in places where it 

 assumes a purplish hue from approaching decomposition. It 

 likewise tears readily on the application of moderate force, from 

 having lost much of its natural firmness. The visible mucous 

 membranes are colourless, or have a slight yellow tinge. The 

 belly is often large, and gives evidence of containing a quantity 

 of fluid. 



On removing the skin, the fascia covering the muscles is 

 frequently found to have a yellowish hue, while the muscles 

 themselves are shrunken in size, soft, and flabby. They have 

 also lost very much of their normal colour, and do not stiffen as 

 is usual. Little or no fat is met with ; but, on the contrary, 

 the areolar tissue is infiltrated to a greater or less degree with 

 serous fluid, remarkable for its watery character. This dropsical 

 effusion is observed to have accumulated here and there, and 

 particularly about the front and lower parts of the neck, and 

 around the lower jaw. 



On laying open the abdominal cavity exit is given to a quan- 

 tity of serous fluid, the physical properties of which vary con- 

 siderably in different cases. In sheep killed for an investigation 

 of the disease, even in the advanced stages, the fluid will mostly 

 be found limpid and transparent, differing but little in appear- 

 ance from ordinary serum ; while, on the contrary, in those that 

 have succumbed to the affection it is often turbid and of a dirty 

 yellow or yellowish-red colour. Much of this variation in 

 colour is due to transudation from the vessels after death ; and 

 the hue will consequently be modified according to the time 

 which has elapsed between the death of the animal and the 

 making of the autopsy. 



The blood-vessels of the mesentery are indistinct, and effusion 

 exists between its serous layers. The omentum is almost devoid 

 of adipose matter, and, like the other structures, has a yellow 

 tinge. The coats of the stomachs and intestines are pale ; and the 

 faeculent matter contained in the latter is usually soft and pulpy. 



Effusions of serum, wholly or in part, supplant the fat which 

 ordinarily covers the kidneys ; and when the two co-exist a 

 peculiar speckled appearance is present beneath the membrane, 

 caused by the commingling of the fat with the serous fluid. The 

 kidneys are both paler and softer than natural ; but their 

 structure is otherwise unaffected. The rest of the urinary 



