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Heart.—The pericardial sac contains about two ounces of a yellowish-red coloured fluid.
No hæmatozoa observed on microscopical examination.
The organ is large, somewhat dilated and hypertrophied. There are a few small
extravasations dotted over the surface of the heart, which are beneath the visceral peri
cardium. The right auricle contains a few clots but there are no ecchymoses. The right
ventricle contains decolourized clot and some dark fluid blood—walls ⅜th inch in thickness.
No ecchymoses, valves normal. The left auricle is normal. The left ventricle is contracted.
On section, the walls are two inches in thickness at their widest part. The auriculo-ventricular
valves present two extravasations of blood, which are lying beneath the endocardial cover
ing. The muscular tissue of the organ is pale and on careful observation some slight extra
vasations are visible, dotted over the surface of the musculi-papillares. These are also
found to be lying under the endocardium and do not appear to dip into the muscular
structure of the organ.
Abdominal cavity.—There is no fluid in the peritoneal cavity.
The Liver is dark in colour, there are some signs of old perihepatitis, especially
on the convex surface of the left lobe. The surface of the organ is dotted over with a large
number of circular, opalescent patches, varying in size from a pin's head to a diameter
of ⅛th of an inch. On passing the hand over the surface of the organ, these bodies are
found to be somewhat raised above the general surface of the tissues, hard, and are easy to
enucleate. On section the liver is very dark in colour, with numerous of the above hard
bodies lying dotted in its substance.
The Stomach is small, and contains a little semi-digested food. The whole of the
cuticular portion presents a bright yellow colour, whilst the line of demarcation between
the cuticular and the villous portion is of a bright orange colour. This colour extends for
at least 1.5 inches to 2 inches on to the cuticular side of the boundary line. The villous
portion of the stomach is pale, with the exception of one small area about ½ an inch square,
which presents a slightly congested condition of the vessels on the surface of the mucous-
membrane. There are three crypt-like excavations small in size lying on the top of the
rugæ close to the limiting line.
Spleen.—Weighs 1 lb. 9 ozs.—There are some small ecchymoses on the surface of the
capsule, dark brick-red in colour. On section the tissue of the organ is firm and healthy-
looking.
Kidneys.—The capsule strips easily from both organs, but the stellate veins are some
what injected. On section, the organs are pale, but they do not appear to present any
pathological lesion to the naked eye.
The points of interest in this case are :—
(i). The successful transmission of the disease after the injection of 2.C.C. of
blood taken from the heart, ten hours after death and from which the hæmatozoa at the
time of inoculation were absent, although on the day previous to it, they had been found
to be numerous on microscopical examination.
(ii). The period of incubation, or the time elapsing between the inoculation and the
first appearance of the hæmatozoa in the blood was nine days.
(iii). The time which elapsed between the first appearance of the hæmatozoon in the
blood and death was fifty-five days, so that from inoculation to the time of death occupied
sixty-four days.
(iv). The extensive pathological lesions as evidenced by the presence at the Post-mortem
examination of a large quantity of yellow-coloured jelly-like exudation in the subcutaneous
tissue of the front of the chest, abdomen and sheath.
(v). The presence of peculiar areas of tissue in the lungs, presenting a very fine reti
culate structure.
(vi). The changes presented by the heart, both externally and internally.
(vii). The deposition of a yellow-coloured material on the surface of the cuticular portion
of the stomach.