453 
J. F. WINCHESTER. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
[copyrighted.] 
BOVINE DIPHTHERIA. 
By J. F. Winchester, B.Sc., D.V.S., Lawrence, Mass. 
A Paper read before the U. S. V. M. A., at Buffalo, Sept. 2. 
Having been requested by the President of this Association 
to prepare a paper for this meeting, I will present for your con¬ 
sideration the subject of Diphtheria. In presenting this subject 
it is my expectation that some may be induced to make closer 
examinations after death of those animals that die from ap¬ 
parently mysterious diseases. I use the expression mysterious 
from the fact that in the outbreak that I shall hereafter cite, if I 
may so term it, the mystery was looked for in the well, the hay 
and the pasture, with negative results. 
In the course of time a case similar to those that had died 
presented itself, and that animal was given to me. As a result 
of that gift I present this paper to-day, hoping to command your 
attention for the time allotted, and at the same time to suggest 
that, notwithstanding the want of record of the existence of diph¬ 
theria in cows, they may be susceptible to the one contagious 
disease that is increasing in the human family. Aside from the 
clinical picture and post-mortem conditions as they appeared to 
me, you will recognize the acknowledged authorities on diph¬ 
theria, whose works I have consulted and from whom I trans¬ 
cribe. 
DIPHTHERIA. 
The word diphtheria is derived from the Greek, signifying 
parchment. 
Synonyms .—Diphtheria among mankind has been described 
by writers in different countries under a variety of names, such 
as cynancha maligna, cynancha contagiosa, angina maligna, 
angina gangrenosa, malignant sore throat, epidemic croup, etc. 
This malady was described by Bard in 1789 under the name 
angina suffocativa. 
The distinctive characters of the affection were very clearly 
