clxxv
19th.—Last night the animal lay down and this morning was unable to rise, consequently
it was placed in slings. Temp. A.M. 39.20C. Hæmatozoa numerous in the blood. Temp.
P.M. 39.9°C.
20th.—The limbs are swollen and exceedingly œdematous. The appetite remains very
good. Temp. A.M. 39.5°C. Hæmatozoa numerous in the blood. Temp. P.M. 39.7°C.
21st.—The oedema of the sheath and scrotum has increased considerably. Appetite
very good. Temp. A.M. 40°C. Hæmatozoa very numerous in the blood. Temp. P.M. 40.2°C.
22nd.— Temp. A.M. 39.2°C. Hæmatozoa very numerous in the blood. Temp. p. m.
37.5°C. The animal is certainly weaker than yesterday and the appetite has fallen off. At
7 P.M. some difficulty of breathing supervened and the animal stands with its head hanging
down. Death took place at 7.30 P.M.
AUTOPSY at 9.30 A.M. 23rd.—Body very little emaciated. Fore and hind limbs consi-
derably œdematous; oedema of scrotum and sheath extends along the under-surface of the
abdomen, forwards on to the chest. There is no fluid in the pleural cavities.
Lungs.—The apices are the seat of emphysema. The superior surface presents an
undulating appearance caused by numerous raised portions varying in size, some are small
and circular and others irregular in outline, the result of several masses becoming confluent,
hard to the touch and dark red in colour, their outline being somewhat sharply defined. On
section the lung is firmer and looks more solid than the normal tissue, but the condition is
not one of consolidation, and a small piece placed in water does not sink. On section of
the organs from apex to base,the colour presented is a mottled yellowish-red, whilst certain
narrow irregular shaped portions of the organ lying close to the surface, present a red hue.
The pericardial sac does not contain an excess of fluid.
Heart,—The fat adherent to the heart presents the yellow-gelatinous condition, observed
at previous post-mortems on Surra patients. On the external surface especially posteriorly
there are several groups of round or irregular shaped extravasations of blood lying under the
visceral pericardium; on section numerous large yellow-coloured clots are found to occupy
the right and left cavities of the organ extending up the great vessels in communication
with them. The endocardial surfaces of the right auricle and ventricle are somewhat pale.
There are no ecchymoses present. The left auricle and ventricle are also pale in colour, but
the latter especially. There are several sub-endocardial extravasations mostly situated upon
the musculi-papillares. The walls of the left ventricle appear somewhat hypertrophied, but
all the valves are perfectly healthy.
Liver.—Small; there are some signs of old peri-hepatitis, especially on the convex
surface of the right lobe. The surface of the organ as also on section presents a yellowish-
red colour. There are scattered here and there on the upper and inferior surfaces of
the organ, lying under the capsule, a few small, white, circular shaped bodies, slightly
raised above the general level of the organ.
Spleen.—Weighs 2lbs. 11 1/2 ozs., and is somewhat soft but probably owing to Post-mortem.
changes. There are no petechias on the surface of the capsule, or changes to notice on
section of the organ.
Kidneys.—The capsules strip easily and appear healthy to the naked eye.
Stomach.—Small in size, contains some semi-digested food, but no pathological lesions
are observable.
Small intestines.—Healthy. Cæcum and colon distended with fasces, but there are no
ecchymoses on the inner-surface of the gut.
The points of interest in this case are:—
(i). The soiled blood used to inoculate this horse, remained in the heart of the
dead animal for ten hours previous to its being used, and on microscopical examination,
no hæmatozoa were observed in it.
(ii). The long period of incubation after inoculation, viz.. 13 days.