Actinomykosis : a new infectious disease of animals and mankind / by George Fleming.

  • Fleming, George, 1833-1901.
Date:
[1883]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Actinomykosis : a new infectious disease of animals and mankind / by George Fleming. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    submitted to surgical treatment. The steer had not received much attention—the tongue having only been dressed a few times—as it was a two-year old animal, and the owner thought he would rather have it slaughtered before it lost condition. The tongue was in good preservation when it reached the Brown Institution, and when I saw it an examination had been made of it by Dr. Roy, director of, and Mr. Garside, M.R.C.V.S., then veterinary surgeon to, that valuable establishment. The appearance of the organ was somewhat curious and very unusual, and it was evident—almost at a glance—that it was affected with something very different to Tuberculosis. In the first place, it appeared to be considerably increased in size, and in texture it was very dense; indeed, the term rigid might have been appropriately applied to it. A transverse section through its middle third exhibited the muscular tissue pale in colour, its fibres indistinct, and looking as if undergoing degeneration ; while interspersed closely throughout the entire mass were myriads of small, light yellow, dense nodules, rather firm in con- sistence, for the most part perfectly distinct from each other, and varying in size from the dimensions of a pin’s head to that of a millet seed or filbert. Here and there two or more of these nodules had evidently coalesced to form larger masses, and the section already mentioned had been made through a some- what extensive patch, which looked as if in process of softening, and the tissues immediately surrounding it were ulcerating. This softening mass, which was somewhat caseous, might have been mistaken for tuberculous deposit; but to those who are familiar with the lesions of Tuberculosis, it would have been scarcely possible to make such a mistake in this instance, after a careful inspection of sections in different parts of the organ. Mr. Garside had made the following notes with regard to it: “The tongue weighed eleven pounds (5994 grammes). About seven inches from the tip it becomes suddenly enlarged. The enlargement extends to the fauces, and is hard and firm to the touch, resembling cartilage in consistence. Length 8 inches, depth 5 inches. The surface shows variously-sized ulcerations, not very deep, and looking as if punched out. In some parts the mucous membrane is purple in colour, mottled by the