20 EiNCEPHALlTlS — PHKEMTIS— MAD STAGGERS. 



in with the Leeds mail from ShefFord, and was seized with stag- 

 gers. She was wandering about, with dilated pupils and laborious 

 respiration, and also symptoms of palsy of the hind extremities. 

 She was bled to twelve pounds from the jugular vein, and had 

 administered an aloetic drink and frequent clysters. The symp- 

 toms increasing, both temporal arteries were opened, from which 

 she was bleeding rapidly when Mr. R. was compelled to leave her. 

 The bleeding continued until she became so exhausted as to begin 

 to make a noise in breathing, " the same as a roarer would make 

 in his gallop." At length she fell ; after which the symptoms began 

 to subside, and in a few days she was sent home. 



The black mare, who was attacked with phrenitis on her return 

 from Norwood — whose case is mentioned in my account of " con- 

 cussion of the brain*'" — had, during my absence, been bled copiously, 

 twice or thrice, from the jugulars, but without any very apparent 

 benefit. When I first saw her, she was lying upon her side, 

 flinging herself about in a state of phrenzy, surrounded by specta- 

 tors who were^ betting any odds she could never rise again : I lost 

 no time in plunging my lancet obliquely into one of her temporal 

 arteries, from which instantly issued such a stream of blood — 

 spouting up like dijet d'eaiL — that I deemed it quite unnecessary 

 to endeavour to turn her to puncture the other temple. She lay, 

 rapidly and profusely bleeding, for some minutes, when, to the 

 astonishment of all her beholders and despairers, she suddenly 

 sprang upon her feet, gave herself a rustling shake or two, and im- 

 mediately commenced eating some hay which happened to be in 

 her manger. In fine, from that hour she was a recovered mare. 



PUKGATION for this disease has ever stood in such high 

 repute among farriers, that a common saying among them is — 

 " purge a horse with staggers and you cure him ;" and this, like 

 many other old veterinary adages, appears to have been founded 

 in sound observation : in fact, it is a practice pursued by every 

 surgeon in cephalitic cases, with the twofold view of removing any 

 source of irritation or cause for the head-affection that may exist 

 within the bowels, and of indirectly abstracting blood by deriva- 

 tion and discharge. 1 know of no surer or more effectual cathartic 



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