M.
ANANT
NARAYAN
RAO
191
In bovines suffering from the disease, the symptoms simulate those of
nasal schistosomiasis. The presence of nasal discharge and snoring noise
during breathing are found in both the conditions, hence clinical diagnosis
may not be easy, excepting when the lesions of Rhinosporidium alone exist, in
which case, the nasal discharge may be unilateral. Diagnosis is easy with the
aid of the microscope under which spores or sporangia of Rhinosporidium are
seen in the nasal discharge. This similarity of the clinical symptoms of the
two diseases of the nose perhaps accounts for the non-recognition of the
condition in bovines in countries where nasal schistosomiasis exists. All the
cases in Southern India were diagnosed microscopically in the laboratory.
7. HISTOPATHOLOGY AND LIFE-HISTORY OF THE ORGANISMS
In a section of the rhinosporidial growth papillary processes of the epithe-
lium are seen. Under the epithelium is found a stroma of delicate fibrous or
fibro myxomatous tissue in which are present the sporangia or asci of Rhinospo¬
ridium. This sub-epithelial tissue is very vascular with young or newly
developed capillaries. In addition, one finds infiltration with polymorpho-
nuclear cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophiles and red blood cells in the
tissue. Giant cells are also met with though rarely.
In the crypts, formed between the papillary processes, are seen morular
spores embedded in the nasal mucus. Those spores evidently were discharged
by the asci. The asci appear to be more numerous under the epithelium and
the fully developed ones are usually just below it. The large asci under the
epithelium seem to press upon that tissue which yields to pressure from below
and ultimately ruptures, thus enabling the mature ascus to discharge its
spores with the nasal mucus outside the animal body. Very few of the mature
asci appear to liberate their spores in the soft tissue in which they develop
and this fact is evident from their ruptured walls and the number of young
sporangia seen, particularly in the vicinity of the mature ascus. Though mature
asci contain a large number of spores, yet it is interesting to note that the
number of young sporangia is very much less than the number of spores which
may have been discharged in the soft tissue of the tumour. The only hypo-
thesis that can be advanced to account for the small number of sporangia,
compared with the number of spores liberated, appears to be the presence of
antagonistic body cells and their lysins which destroy most of the spores.
The smallest developing trophozoite is rounded or ovoid and measures about
6 to 8 µ and is filled with granular protoplasm in which is present a nucleus
with a nucleolus. It is interesting to note that the smallest developing tropho-
zoite resembles the small sized spore in an ascus, a reference to which will be
made later. A study of the developing trophozoites in sections reveals
exactly what has been described by Ashworth [1923] and the details need not
be entered into here. A fully grown ascus is rounded or slightly oval and
measures 250 to 300 µ in diameter. The thickness of the wall varies in mature
asci in proportion to the size of the ascus, the mature ones having compara-
tively thin walls. In some young asci the so-called " pore " through which