THE DISEASES OP CATTLE. 223 



" The post-mortem revealed anaemia, the tissues being exceed- 

 ingly pale and sodden, the blood in the vessels scanty and pale, 

 and scarcely staining the fingers. The abdominal viscera 

 were healthy with the exception of the liver which was con- 

 gested. The gall-bladder was distended with dirty, lemon-col- 

 ered bile, of thin consistence, and seemingly containing a large 

 amount of mucus. On opening the cavity of the thorax, the 

 pericardium was seen distended to an enormous extent, filling 

 the floor of the cavity, and adherent to the sternum and pleura 

 costalis by a thick layer of exuded lymph, this having no ap- 

 pearance of organization, but seemingly consisting of a shape- 

 less basis-substance, easily separated from the parts it was in 

 contact with. The cavity of the pericardium contained at its 

 inferior part, about two pints of a fetid, wheylilte fluid. With 

 the exception of that part which contained this fluid, the cavity 

 was obliterated by exudation, matter about two inches in thick- 

 ness surrounding and glueing together the visceral and parietal 

 surfaces of the pericardium. The heart itself was flabby, pale, 

 and its cavities contained a small amount of blood, of the same 

 thin consistence as that in other parts of the body. The endo- 

 cardium was healthy. The lungs presented no appearance of 

 disease ; they were pale, excepting in the parts lyin g undermost 

 after death. The pleurae, excepting where they were involved 

 in the pericardiac disease, presented no abnormal appearance. 

 The thoracic and abdominal cavities contained a little fluid. 



"Reflecting on the appearance presented by the pericardium, 

 by its being adherent through the accompanying pleuritis to 

 the walls of the thorax and sternum, and by the heart itself 

 being thus in a manner bound down and fastened by a thick 

 layer of plaster, and elastic material existing between it and 

 the ribs, I was satisfied that the absence of the sounds of im- 

 pulse was due to these pathological changes, and not as I had 

 foolishly supposed to general debility. But before giving pub- 

 licity to this opinion I thought it better to wait for more proof. 



"September 4th, 1857, 1 was called to attend a cow, the prop- 

 erty of W. Gregg, Esq., Syntroll, Mold. I had attended her 

 in May previous, for ' retention of the foetal membrane.' She 



