THE RELATION OF DIET TO DISEASE 457 
in any quantity until the lower stomach and duodenum 
are reached. The inflammation of the aUmentary tracts 
of these animals is confined to the fourth stomach and 
duodenum, with, in many cases, extension to liver 
and pancreas. 
Acute and chronic degenerative changes occur very 
frequently, and as a rule are the result primarily of 
absorbed toxins. After ingestion of new hay this often 
appears. The toxic substance probably is a terpinol ester, 
cumarin, which is produced by an enzyme in the cut grass. 
The result is a gastroenteritis with jaundice, thirst and 
marked flatulence. It is very probable that many of the 
gastrointesinal and degenerative lesions are the result 
of the combined action of toxin and bacteria. 
Food Poisoning. 
Food poisoning occurs in all diets, but especially 
among the grass-eating mammals. To-day under the 
general heading of food poisoning are included those 
cases due to (1) some injurious substance inherent in the 
food itself, true food poisoning, (2) those due to toxic 
substances liberated or produced in food contaminated by 
parasites or bacteria, (3) those due to bacteria that are 
carried by food and develop into true infection after 
ingestion. Most of the cases of meat poisoning described 
in literature undoubtedly belong to this third class, i.e., 
flesh is infected during the life of the animal or during 
its preparation for food and the virus develops in the 
host after ingestion. A fourth and more rare class of 
food poisoning is due to the condition of the individual 
consuming the food — protein sensitization. 
Injurious constituents of normal flesh foods are very 
uncommon. There are a few poisonous fish, notably the 
balloon, puffer, and Fuga fish of Japan, which when 
eaten give rise to cholera-like conditions ending in con- 
vulsions and paralysis. A marked intoxication has been 
described in dogs which have fed upon the Greenland 
30 
