CANCER OF THE SPINE. 509 



" From this date up to the 18th of November, there was a gradual 

 wasting away of the muscles ; the appetite was generally good, the 

 animal eating an average quantity of the most nutritious provender 

 that could be procured. 



" During this period the urine became highly impregnated with 

 albumen, but which gradually diminished in quantity, until on the 18th 

 of November, after which time I entirely failed to detect its presence. 



" On several occasions during the above period, the peculiar spas- 

 modic contraction of the muscles, the tympanitic state of the abdomen, 

 the anxious and protruding eyes, and the intense suffering, would come 

 on, but only lasted for a short time. These symptoms generally oc- 

 curred two or three days in succession, and were not again seen for six 

 or eight days. 



u On the 18th of November, I found that the tumour was very 

 much smaller, and also soft and flaccid. The pulse and breathing were 

 perfectly natural, both in character and number. The spasmodic con- 

 traction of the muscles did not occur, even when pressure was applied 

 to the spine, and the animal looked more cheerful and lively. 



" From this date up to the beginning of December the mare slightly 

 improved in condition, and I had more hopes of her ultimate recovery ; 

 but on the 6th of December the symptoms again returned, and in as bad 

 a form as before. They continued for several days, and then disap 

 peared. 



" On the 23d of December, at 8 o'clock in the evening, she was left 

 apparently no worse. She drank an unusual quantity of water, and ate 

 her food with avidity ; but early on the following morning she was 

 found dead and cold. 



" Post-mortem appearances. The thoracic viscera, the spleen, and 

 the liver, were all very pale in colour, but otherwise healthy. The left 

 kidney was very much enlarged. The stomach, intestines, bladder, 

 uterus, and right kidney, were likewise healthy ; but the pancreas was 

 filled with small tumours, varying in size from a pea to a walnut, which 

 contained a yellowish jelly-like substance. The spinous processes of 

 the lumbar vertebrae were extensively diseased. 



" The second, third, and fourth cervical vertebrae were extensively 

 diseased. In the broad, flat, spinous process of the dentata, there 

 existed a circular aperture, extending from side to side, and from the 

 arch to the top of the process at the point of its bifurcation. On the 

 lateral and anterior part of the body on the left side the disease had 



