136 
Tue Rot in Sheep. 
of the disease, even in the advanced stages, the fluid will mostly 
be found limpid and transparent, differing but little in appearance 
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 tlie mesentery are indistinct, and effusion 
exists between its sei'ous layers. The omentum is almost devoid 
of fat, and, like the other structures, has a yellow tinge. The 
coats of the stomachs and intestines are pale ; and the fa?culent 
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 produced beneath the serous 
membrane by the commingling of the fat with the fluid. The 
kidneys are both paler and softer than natural ; but their 
structure is otherwise unaffected. The rest of the urinary 
organs, and also those of the generative system, are healthy, but 
partake of the general pallor which pervades the frame. 
The liver is the organ chiefly affected, nevertheless it 
presents characters in some instances the very opposite of 
those which are met with in others. It is mostly altered in 
shape, size, and colour. Its outline is irregular, and its surfaces, 
especially the abdominal one, often nodulated by a condensa- 
tion or shrinking of the substance of the gland in some 
parts, beyond that of others. As a rule, it is diminished 
altogether in size, and changed from its reddish-brown or 
chocolate hue to a pale or dirty-coloured yellow. Occasionally 
its surface is studded over with red spots, which contrast greatly 
with the yellow clay-like colour on which they rest. Sometimes 
these specks are mingled with others of various hues, imparting 
to the organ a peculiar mottled condition, which led Harrison to 
remark, in 1804, and Youatt to rejieat many years afterwards, 
that the liver " in some cases is speckled like the back of a toad." 
Its general structure is condensed, imparting a hard and some- 
times gritty feel to the finger, more particularly in long-standing 
cases of the disease. In other instances the normal colour is less 
altered, and there are greater evidences of simple venous congestion. 
This is denoted chiefly on the abdominal surface, which is both 
striated and spotted by the enlarged and congested blood-vessels 
which lie in tlie course of the main biliary ducts. These ducts are 
diseased more or less in all cases of long standing. Their coats 
are thickened and hardened, and their calibre dilated, often to 
an extent sufficient to admit the end of the finger. They appear 
