RUPTURE OF THE LIVER: HEPATIC APOPLEXY. 



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same manner. According to La Notte, a too substantial alimen- 

 tation would also produce a fatty degeneration of the liver, 

 and thus predispose it to rupture» Sometimes hepatic hemor- 

 rhages occur as a consequence of embolism of the hepatic artery 

 (Wright) or from obstruction of the hepatic veins (hemorrhagic 

 infarctus), and during the course of serious infectious diseases or 

 poisonings (anthrax, phosphoric poisoning), which lead to paren- 

 chymatous hepatitis. Finally, they may be connected with some 

 malformations of the liver : with tubercle, melanoma, or carcinoma 

 (Bruckmiiller). 



Patholog-ical anatomy. The alterations are usually very 

 simple. In superficial hemorrhages the hepatic tissue is softened 

 and transformed into a thick dark-red mass. The serous membrane 

 often forms upon the surface of the liver soft pustules of a vesicular 

 appearance and which contain blood. In the horse, in the case of 

 abdominal hemorrhage, the fissure through which the blood has 

 passed into the peritoneal cavity almost always exists upon the 

 convex side and near the inferior border of the liver ; these edges 

 are covered with coagulated blood. We may find the hepatic 

 parenchyma stuifed with numerous little hemorrhagic centres, the 

 contents of which are composed of a mixture of blood and broken- 

 down hepatic tissue. In case of hemorrhagic infarctus, well-defined 

 cuneiform infiltrations are formed. The microscopic examination 

 reveals all the degenerative alterations mentioned in the preceding 

 chapter. Limited hemorrhages of the hepatic parenchyma may be 

 the starting-point of abscess of the liver. 



Symptoms. Sometimes they appear suddenly, without pro- 

 dromes, at other times they are preceded by manifestations of the 

 predisposing hepatic disease : icterus, constipatiou, pain on palpa- 

 tion of the hypochondrium, etc. In general, we observe all the 

 symptoms of internal hemorrhage. We notice especially a very 

 pronounced paleness, cold sweats, chilling of the extremities; the 

 pulse and beatings of the heart are weak, almost imperceptible; the 

 animals stagger and lie down, or fall exhausted ; the eye rolls, the 

 pupil is dilated ; there is amaurosis, sudden blindness, etc. Death 

 occurs very rapidly — as a rule, within a few hours. The small 

 hemorrhages may become reabsorbed if they are not complicated by 

 a fatal disease. 



Benjamin, in a horse which had been kicked, three days before, 

 in the region of the hypochondrium, found polyuria which continued 



