Part 64

Polyps are usually fibromas or myxomas, occurring on the mucous membrane of the nasal passages or genital tract. They grow upon a narrow stem, bleed readily when injured, and often contain a center of thin, limpid fluid. A bloody discharge is sometimes seen coming from the affected nostril, but this is not always easy of detection in cattle, owing to the pliancy of their tongues and to their habit of licking an irritated nostril. Usually these tumors grow downward and may project from the nostril, causing snoring sounds and uneasy breathing. They may occasionally force themselves backward into the throat, where they interfere seriously with respiration, the patient being obliged to breathe with an effort, and even forced to cough in order to dislodge temporarily the obstruction from the larynx. Such tumors, when near the nostril, may easily be removed by the use of forceps or a loop made of bailing wire. Serious bleeding is not liable to follow their removal, but an astringent wash, such as a solution of the perchlorid of iron, if applied to the cut surface, will be found very beneficial. In case the tumor is not within easy reach, the services of a qualified veterinarian should be obtained to perform the necessary operation.

LIPOMA.

This is a tumor consisting chiefly of fat cells. The growth is irregularly rounded and distinctly lobulated, very soft, and almost fluctuating. It is insensitive, grows slowly, and is always inclosed in a distinct fibrous capsule, from which it can be easily shelled out. It may become very large and often hangs pendulous from a long, elastic pedicle. In cattle this tumor may be found in the subcutaneous tissues, especially of the back and shoulders, uterus, and intestines, and in the latter position it may cause strangulation, or "gut tie," by winding around a loop of the intestine.

Treatment.--When found on the skin the tumor may be readily removed with a knife or by a ligature. Caustics and the cautery produce wounds that heal slowly and can not be recommended in the treatment of this tumor.

CHONDROMA.

This tumor formation is composed of cartilage cells. It is a rounded and very often unevenly nodular and sharply described tumor. It is very hard, dense, elastic, and painless and develops principally where we find normal cartilage cells. It is rare in cattle, but has been found in the subcutaneous tissues and nasal cavities.

Treatment.--Extirpation.

OSTEOMA (BONY TUMOR).

Bones may occasionally grow in such a profuse and irregular manner that the product, or osteophyte, assumes the character of a tumor. The bone tissue may possess either spongy or compact properties and grow either from the periphery of the bone or within its interior. These tumors most frequently appear about the head of the animal, either upon the jawbones, within the nasal passages, or in connection with the horns. They are usually of bony hardness, painless, benign, and sharply outlined.

Treatment.--The treatment consists in either removing them with a saw, chisel, or trephine, or preventing their further development by counterirritation with blisters or firing iron.

MYXOMA.

Characteristic myxomas are mucoid tumors which chiefly originate from the mucous membrane and are especially to be found within the nasal passages and uteri of cattle. They can reach a size of three fists, are smooth or velvetlike, or may be lobulated, broad at the base, and consist of a glassy-looking mass of connective tissue, which usually shows a distinctive yellowish color. Being homogeneous and elastic, the moist, jellylike tissue composing the tumor may be easily destroyed or crushed. When cut through, these tumors soon collapse from the loss of their fluids. They sometimes inclose elliptical cavities filled with slimy, gelatinous masses.

Treatment.--Extirpation.

SARCOMA.

This is a malignant tumor after the type of embryonal tissue, and consists of several varieties, such as the round cell, spindle cell, giant cell, alveolar, and melanosarcoma. They grow by preference in connective tissue and are quite vascular. Sarcomas appear either as single or multiple nodules, varying in size from a hempseed to a hazelnut, or else as a moderate number of tumors of the size of hen eggs. Their surface, at first smooth, later becomes lumpy and tuberous from internal degeneration. Secondary nodules may appear near the primary tumor. The outer skin is not involved so soon as in cancer, nor does ulceration follow so rapidly. Sarcoma is about the most frequent and dangerous tumor that is found in cattle. It occurs in young animals, and is found on the serous membranes, in the glandular organs, and on the outer skin, especially of the neck and shoulders--in fact, in nearly every tissue and in almost every part of the body. This tumor is often found in places exposed to traumatisms and at seats of scars, or of irritations from pressure and inflammation.

Treatment.--Treatment should consist in early and complete removal by the knife, including one-half or three-quarters of an inch of the sound tissue adjoining the tumor. If there is a possibility that sarcomatous tissue still remains, either cauterize the wound with a hot iron or powder the walls of the cavity with arsenious acid.

CANCER (CARCINOMA).

Cancers are tumors of epithelial tissues and are malignant. There are several varieties of cancers, such as hard, soft, and colloid, but only those growing on the surface will be mentioned here. These malignant tumors of the superficial organs develop primarily from the epidermis or from the glands of the skin. They appear secondarily as spreading infections from milk glands, thyroids, anal glands, or as embolisms. In such cases their sole character depends wholly upon the kind of cancer from which they have sprung. The infiltrating cancer begins as an elevation of the skin, which progresses until it becomes rough and nodular. The surface later becomes attacked, and an ulcer results whose edges are outlined by a hard, firm zone.

The ulcerations may remain limited by cicatricial tissue, but it is more likely that the infiltration and destruction of tissue will spread out wider and deeper until a rodent ulcer (so called) is formed. One of the most frequent sites of cancer in cattle is in the eye, where they are called fungus hematodes, but they also occur on the skin, on the genitals, in the stomach, and within the organs.

Fungus hematodes.--This starts at the inner corner of the eye as a papillary elevation or as small nodules which become fused. They grow larger and become papillomatous, with superficial ulcerations and a tendency toward hemorrhage. In some cases the eye is displaced by the growing tumor or is attacked by the cancer cells and entirely destroyed.

Cancerous growths upon the external genitals and the anus usually present a rough, irregular surface from which there is a constant sloughing of decomposed tissue accompanied with a penetrating disagreeable odor.

The diagnosis of cancer may be made clinically by noting the simultaneous infection of the lymph glands which surround the primary lesion. Deeply burrowing and infiltrating forms which appear as lumps and ulcerations cause marked disfiguration of the affected part. The surface becomes a soft, greasy mass; later it cracks open and from the fissures blood-colored pus exudes, being continually formed by the moist degeneration of the tissues beneath. At first the general health of the animal does not appear affected, but later the cancer nodules spread to important organs and give rise to marasmus and progressive emaciation. Cancer is not a frequent tumor of cows. Frˆhner states that of 75 cases of tumors in cattle which came under his observation 2, or 2.6 per cent, were found to be cancers, while 20, or 26.6 per cent, were sarcomas.

Treatment.--Treatment consists in the early and complete removal of the tumor, taking care to include a wide border of healthy tissue. This has been most successful in such superficial cancers as those of the eye, penis, anus, testicle, vulva, and sheath. If the disease has advanced too far, this treatment may not prove efficacious, owing to the great malignancy of the cancer and its tendency to recur. In such cases the animal may be slaughtered, but the flesh should be used for food only after inspection by a competent veterinarian.

CYSTS.

Cysts may be true or false tumors and consist of a capsule containing a fluid or semisolid content. Among the most important cysts, which have been briefly referred to in a previous table, the following are probably the most noteworthy, owing to the frequency with which they are found in bovines:

SOFTENING CYSTS.

Softening cysts, which result from the degenerative liquefaction of normal or diseased tissues, especially of tumors of different kinds, followed by the encapsulation of the fluid.

PARASITIC CYSTS.