Sturdy

Sturdy, or the GID, affects young sheep, and sometimes young cattle, and is due to the presence within the brain of a Hydatid or bladder-worm, the Cænurus cerebralis, which is the embryonic or cystic stage of the tapeworm—the Tænia cænurus, mostly found in dogs. The bladder or cyst, sometimes the size of a hen's egg, consists of an enveloping membrane, formed by the membranes of the brain, and contains a watery fluid. Upon its surface the membrane is covered with white dots in groups, and if these are closely examined with a slightly magnifying glass they will be found to be the heads of the Tænia in various stages of development. This hydatid, when given to dogs, is known to produce tapeworms, and conversely itself originates from the ova of the tapeworm ejected on the pastures with the faeces of dogs. In the state of ova, or in some of its earlier minuter transitional forms, the hydatid embryo is picked up along with the grass, passes into the blood, and is thence laid down in the soft loose textures of the brain. It is but rarely seen where no dogs are kept, or perhaps where no foxes abound, and amongst sheep from six to twenty months old. The animal cannot properly seek its food, loses condition, staggers when moved, turns stupidly round almost in one spot, and usually towards the side on which the hydatid lies. The parasite and its sac may generally be removed by placing the sheep, with its feet tied, on a table or bench, searching for the softened portion of the skull, which generally overlies the hydatid, laying back a flap of skin, and introducing the trocar and canula, and when the sac is deep-seated, cautiously withdrawing it with the help of a small syringe. Protected by a leather cap and simple water-dressings, the wound may heal and the sheep recover.