The Foot — Laminitis. 1 1 1 



of disease, wliich was to the effect that laminitis 

 to all intents and purposes belongs to the 

 rheumatic class ; and more lately, on perusing 

 a paper by Mr. Greaves, I find two right words 

 used in the right place in reference to the active 

 causes of this disease, viz. igneous element. I 

 feel quite satisfied that the words ^ igneous 

 element " are the very essence of this lamentable 

 disease of the horse, lurking as it does in the 

 system, waiting only for some exciting circum- 

 stances to bring it into activity. Nor is it 

 possible for the man attending upon the animals 

 to prevent this complaint, any more than he can 

 prevent himself from an attack of rheumatic 

 fever — a case in the human subject analogous 

 to laminitis in the horse. Here we have the 

 symptoms soniewhat similar to those we see in 

 the laminitic acute pain — extreme tenderness 

 attended with great constitutional disturbance, 

 extreme restlessness, intense thirst, and loss of 

 appetite, the pulse often up to 120, and full, 

 hard, and jerking ; the bowels obstinately costive, 

 the urine scanty and high coloured, with a strong 

 acid reaction ; the skin is often bathed in a 

 profuse sweat, which, however, affords no relief, 

 and it is an established fact with the medical 

 profession that rheumatism is essentially a blood 

 disease, and that the poison which is accumulated 

 in it appears to be lactic acid. It also contains 

 a large excess of fibrine, the urine is excessively 

 acid, high coloured, and contains much uric acid, 

 and the remedy of the faculty in such cases is 

 the treatment by alkalis. . . . Since the system 



