THE ALIMENTARY TRACT 191 
work of the colonic villi, while rich, is in the form of a 
fine plexus just under the epithelium. In the cases studied 
these vessels become quite distinct and possess much 
more definite walls, often bordered by mononuclears, while 
connective tissue is more evident at the bases of the villi 
and deeper. This may help in deciding the existence of 
a colitis. 
Bacteriologically the most instructive experience to 
report is the discovery that a small outbreak of enteritis 
among small Carnivora, chiefly cats, fed upon fowl heads 
was due to Bact. paracoli, or at least this organism was 
found in the intestinal mucosa, spleen, and heart's blood 
of three cases. The type of enteritis was hemorrhagic and 
follicular. There was also a case of septicemia appar- 
ently emanating from enteritis due to Bact. suipestifer in 
a lion {Felis leo). These facts bring strongly to attention 
the modern teaching that meat poisonings of the Gartner 
type are to be considered as infectious and not of the 
so-called ptomaine group. 
PiNNiPEDiA, while related closely to the Carnivora, 
are grouped in a suborder in our classification and because 
of their restricted diet are treated here in a separate 
paragraph. The tract is peculiar in the strong tubular 
stomach sharply bent upon itself, the great length of the 
small gut (upwards of a hundred feet in some genera), 
and the practical absence of a cecum. Pathologically 
speaking, the most striking lesion of these animals is 
ulcerative gastritis, a process usually most marked along 
the posterior-superior surface, but not confined thereto. 
Upon inspection the gastric mucosa, normally supplied 
with low regular rugae, is much distorted by swellings 
upon the top of which are irregular ragged ulcers with 
rounded elevated but not frayed margins. The density 
of the edges indicates much infiltration of the deep 
mucosa and submucosa; this can be confirmed by micro- 
scopical examination. One attempt to study this gastritis 
bacteriologically was fruitless. Sections of one case 
