■522 



DISEASES OF THE SKIK 



and head, and also backward as far as the base of the tail. In the 

 majority of cases the recovery occurs of itself as soon as the rainy 

 season is over. It is not necessary to resort to therapeutic agents. 



This disease is prejudicial chiefly on account of the falling out of 

 wool w^hich it occasions. When it assumes an exceptionally serious 

 character the animals must be kept in the sheepfold. 



E. Eczematous Diseases of the Pig*. 



In the porcine species we know but fuligiuosis " of young pigs 

 {pitchy mange, scabby rash — Russ). In the beginning this affection 

 is characterized by a vesiculous eczema, which later become pus- 

 tulous or impetiginous. It affects especially young, weak, or sickly 

 animals [in cases of acute articular rheumatism (Ulrich) ; in rha- 

 chitis (Fiinfstuck); tuberculosis, hog cholera, etc.]. It is due to 

 various causes (dirty stables, accumulation and decomposition of 

 sebaceous matter, etc.). In most cases it depends upon a constitu- 

 tional disease and may be compared to scrofulosis in man. 



As a general rule it extends over the whole surface of the body ; 

 it is indicated by the appearance of vesicles, which rapidly go to the 

 pustulous state and dry up, forming, black, thick, and pitchy crusts, 

 under which the skin excretes a watery serous matter. 



As to treatment, we may simply keep the beasts clean, wash them 

 with soap- water, and also feed them well. 



Zschokke has described under the name of granulous eruption 

 {Schrottenauschlag) in the pig, a peculiar papulous dermatosis, 

 having a chronic course, which is characterized- by circumscribed 

 blotches, of the size of the hand, and located upon the ears, back, 

 croup, and base of the tail. The papules are of a gray-violet col- 

 oration, similar to that of lead shot ; they are not transformed into 

 pustules and do not produce any itching, which distinguishes them 

 from fuliginosis. According to Zschokke, the morbid process con- 

 sists in a proliferation of the papillary layer of the derma, and is 

 caused by a specific micrococci.* 



1 Under the name Scleroderma we designate a cutaneous affection of a hypertro- 

 phic nature, which seems peculiar to animals of the porcine species (Gabarret, 

 Lécuyer, Thierry). It is characterized by rigidity and thickening of skin, by in- 

 duration, sclerosis of the derma, and the disappearance of the adipose tissue {lard 

 routé). It starts as a rule upon the dorsal region; thence it extends to the neck and 

 shoulders, also to the croup ; then it invades the lateral parts of the body, and becom- 

 ing general, it soon leads to cachexia. The principal alteration is hypertrophic scle- 

 rosis of the skin. This membrane may acquire a thickness of five centimetres (two 

 inches) in the dorsal region (see Journ. de Lyon, 1882). — n. d. t. 



