19 
Report of the Laboratory of Comparative 
Pathology for the Year Ending February 29th, 
1916. 
The fiscal year for which the following report is sub- 
mitted has shown a very high mortality, the highest in- 
deed for all years since the Laboratory was started. This 
is in part due to one large and one small epidemic, to 
coincidence and to the maturity or senility of several 
large mammals. Were the epidemics excluded the 
mortality of the Garden for this year would be about 
normal. The deaths among the monkeys and lemurs 
have experienced a pronounced fall. Hygienic and 
pathological observations upon the special groups are to 
be found in Section II of the report and here will be put 
only a few general remarks upon the more important 
specimens. 
The Siberian tiger succumbed to a very severe general 
infection probably intestinal in origin. It does not seem 
that the general meat supply was at fault because at the 
time of the tiger's death no other acute disease was seen 
in the Carnivora House. He may have received a bad 
piece of meat or been infected by visitors. The sloth bear 
died after an ineffectual attempt to reduce a prolapse of 
the intestine. The prolapsed part was diseased and prob- 
ably formed an entry for infection. The lioness died from 
a peritonitis succeeding a perforation of the uterus, which 
was the seat of chronic inflammation and a malignant 
tumor. A young wart hog, born in the Garden, died from 
injury, probably by slipping and striking its head. The 
last Tasmanian devil succumbed to several conditions, 
chiefly a disease of the pancreas and its surrounding 
structures, after several months' illness. The white- 
tailed gnu and Himalayan thar are interesting in that they 
died of chronic Bright's disease of the type commonly 
associated with dropsy. Both these beasts showed dropsy 
in situations comparable to the h^ man homologue except 
in the face and lower segments of the extremities. The 
