PART II. 

 MEDICAL PATHOLOGY AND PRACTICE. 



. XIX.— ACUTE ENDOCARDITIS IN THE HORSE. 



For the past half-century acute inflammation of the endocardium 

 in animals has been the subject of interesting researches, among which 

 those of MM. Leblanc and Trasbot merit special mention. It is still 

 generally regarded as a very rare affection, partly because it is fre- 

 quently overlooked, partly because of the conditions under which it 

 usually develops.* 



The published clinical records on this subject refer to various forms 

 of the disease, such as primary endocarditis, traumatic endocarditis, 

 and endocarditis a frigorc, and secondary endocarditis, especially of 

 rheumatic character. In the horse, as in other animals, primary 

 endocarditis when occurring must be of exceptional rarity. I have 

 never seen a case ; all that have come under my notice were ex- 

 amples of acute secondary endocarditis, the majority in animals 

 suffering with or convalescent from pneumonia. I will describe two 

 cases. 



Last winter I had an opportunity of examining a case of pneumonia, 

 in which the pulmonary disease was complicated with endocarditis. 

 The history of the case is shortly as follows : 



One morning towards the end of January the animal left a portion 

 of its first feed, and, although it was put to work, the coachman 

 noticed that it was dull, appeared tired, and stopped from time to 



* In 1863, at the Central Society of Veterinary Medicine, Colin still disputed the 

 occurrence of endocarditis and myocarditis in the horse. He declared he had never seen 

 false membranes on the endocardium, nor valvular insufficiency. He referred the white 

 patches formed by cicatricial tissue, which he had often seen in the horse, to partial ruptures 

 of the muscular fibres. 



