Special report on diseases of cattleUnited States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Science
Special report on diseases of cattle
United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Cattle -- Diseases
The disease does not always appear in its full severity; for a day, or even
two, however, there may be merely loss of appetite, impaired rumination, a
disposition to remain lying down, yet when the patient is raised it
manifests suffering by anxiously looking at the flanks, shifting or
stamping of the hind feet, shaking of the tail, and attempts to urinate,
which are either fruitless or lead to the discharge of a small quantity of
high-colored or perhaps bloody urine.
In some recent slight cases, and in many chronic ones, these symptoms may
be absent or unobserved, and an examination of the urine is necessary to
reach a safe conclusion. The urine may contain blood, or it may be cloudy
from contained albumin, which coagulates on heating with nitric acid (see
"Albuminuria," p. 121); it may be slightly glairy from pus, or gritty
particles may be detected in it. In seeking for casts of the uriniferous
tubes, a drop may be taken with a fine tube from the bottom of the liquid
after standing, and examined under a power magnifying 50 diameters. If the
fine, cylindroid filaments are seen they may then be examined with a power
of 200 or 250 diameters. (Pl. XI, fig. 5.) The appearance of the casts
gives some clue to the condition of the kidneys. If made up of large,
rounded or slightly columnar cells, with a single nucleus in each cell
(epithelial), they imply comparatively slight and recent disease of the
kidney tubes, the detachment of the epithelium being like what is seen in
any inflamed mucous surface. If made up largely of the small, disk-shaped
and nonnucleated red blood globules, they imply escape of blood, and
usually a recent injury or congestion of the kidney--it may be from
sprains, blows, or the ingestion of acrid or diuretic poisons. If the casts
are made of a clear, waxy, homogeneous substance (hyaline), without any
admixture of opaque particles, they imply an inflammation of longer
standing, in which the inflamed kidney tubules have been already stripped
of their cellular (epithelial) lining. If the casts are rendered opaque by
the presence of minute, spherical granular cells, like white blood
globules, it betokens active suppuration of the kidney tubes. In other
cases the casts are rendered opaque by entangled earthy granules (carbonate
of lime), or crystals of some other urinary salts. In still other cases the
casts entangle clear, refrangent globules of oil or fat, which may imply
fatty degeneration of the kidneys or injury to the spinal cord. The
presence of free pus giving a glairy, flocculent appearance to the urine is
suggestive of inflammation of the urinary pouch at the commencement of the
excretory duct (pelvis of kidney) (Pl. IX, fig. 1), especially if
complicated with gritty particles of earthy salts. This condition is known
as pyelitis. In the chronic cases swelling of the legs or along the lower
surface of chest or abdomen, or within these respective cavities, is a
common symptom.
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