366 
DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
whether Dr. Jobson has any new conclusions from his recent 
investigation as to the cause and origin of the disease, but with 
his assistance we shall in the future give a complete report of 
the disease. Dr. N. G. Houch, traveling inspector foi the 
Bureau of Animal Industry, has expressed his willingness to as¬ 
sist in gathering data from which we may be able to ascertain 
the cause, course and treatment of the disease. 
The reason that we entertain the idea that the disease ob¬ 
served in cattle is of a trachomatous nature, is from our exper¬ 
ience with a trachoma in a dog that we had under observation 
for three years. The disease in the dog, however, never de¬ 
veloped to the stage of those advanced cases which Dr. Jobson had 
under inspection for scientific purposes. When first noticed, the 
disease was confined to the palpebral conjunctiva above the nasal 
canthus, and extended from there to the membrana nictitans 
and ocular conjunctiva. In the course of three years involved 
all the coats of the eyeball, located on the antero-internal part of 
it. The dog was never treated for the disease, but a younger 
dog which was always with the one in question developed gran¬ 
ulations on the inner surface of the upper eyelid and on the 
membrana nictitans. These granulations were treated surgically 
and never reappeared. The old dog was destroyed and the eye 
carefully examined ( macroscopically ) ; the diseased portion of the 
eyeball included the antero-internal zone of the sphere, extend¬ 
ing to tiie inner third of the cornea, and the diseased portion 
upon examination resembled the carcinoma of the eye so fre¬ 
quently noticed in cattle. This trachoma presented the same 
clinical features noticed in the more benign forms; the first 
stage began with an acute inflammation, and increased lachry- 
mation, which was followed by a hypertrophy of the conjunctiva 
and formation of cicatricial tissue; the conjunctiva never 
atrophied, but the cicatrices became granular, appeared in¬ 
flamed, and extended to other tissues. 
Etiology .—The cause of trachoma has been attributed to a 
diplococcus by some investigators, and to a fungus ( microsporon 
trachomatosum ) by others ; with this fungus Mutermilch claims 
to have produced trachomata in calves and rabbits ( Annales 
dlOculistique, October, 1891, and May, 1892). So far as known 
there is no constitutional condition that renders an animal pre¬ 
disposed to the disease, but those of a lymphatic temperament 
are said to be the most susceptible, although there is no good 
reason for such a conclusion. In human surgery and medicine, 
the geographical distribution of the disease has received much 
