Abstract
Pathophysiological changes were examined in chickens experimentally infected with Eimeria tenella and E. acervulina in the course of infection and recovery. Following the discharge of bloody feces on the 4th day of E. tenella infection, a marked decreases was found in such blood components as the erythrocyte count, hemoglobin concentration, and total plasma protein concentration until the 10th day. Anorexia, retarded growth, enlarged spleen and liver, and pathological changes of the caeca were also observed in the infected birds. It took about ten days after the onset of discharge of bloody feces for these birds to return to normal growth. Prolongation of retarded growth and decrease in weight of the heart were striking findings in E. acervulina infection. Most of the clinical and pathophysiological changes were observed on the 3rd and 10th day after infection. The decrease in the components of blood was lower in severity but lasted a little longer in E. acervulina infection than in E. tenella infection.
