THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 195 



that which contemplates prostration of the vital forces. It would 

 be exceedingly interesting to follow Dr. Radcliffe in his argu- 

 ments sustaining the proposition just broached, (the state of the 

 circulation in convulsive and spasmodic disorders ;) but our limits 

 will not allow us to do so. With a view, however, of sustaining 

 our own opinion, we quote the following : — 



" The state of the circulation in tetanus may be illustrated by 

 two recent cases. One of these was sent to The Lancet by Mr. 

 Salter, of Dorset. It was that of an old man, upwards of seventy- 

 three years of age, whose foot had been partly destroyed by a 

 threshing machine. The spasms set in after a prolonged employ- 

 ment (for three or four days) of strong purgative mixtures of salts, 

 senna, and tartar emetic, along with morphia and aperient pills. 

 During the spasms the injured foot was pale and numb, the skin 

 moist, and the countenance cadaverous. The state of the pulse 

 is not specified ; but what this was is to be inferred from the 

 foregoing particulars, as well as from the adoption of vigorous 

 stimulation with brandy and ammonia when the spasms occurred. 

 Indeed, in a man so old, so injured, so antimonialized and purged, 

 only one conclusion is possible, namely, that the circulation must 

 have been very greatly depressed. This appears also from the 

 sequel, which was this, under the new mode of treatment the 

 system rallied, and the tetanized parts relaxed ; and this rally- 

 ing and relaxation lasted for several days, at the end of which 

 the symptoms relapsed. This was after an exhausting and agi- 

 tating interview with some friends. Again stimulants were had 

 recourse to, and again the spasms disappeared, not to return. 

 In the relapse, the pulse is stated to have been extremely feeble, 

 and of a typhoid character. In the second patient, the state of 

 his system is stated to have been such as to contra-indicate the 

 use of any lowering medicines, the spirits being faint and low, 

 the countenance anxious, the pulse 98 and weak, and so on. 

 Quinine, ammonia, and turpentine were had recourse to ; and 

 the result of the treatment was, that the system rallied, and the 

 spasms subsided. These instances illustrate the large body of 

 cases of tetanus, for certainly the majority are in no way com- 

 plicated with any kind or degree of vascular activity ; but do 

 they illustrate the rule? Are there no exceptions in which 



