234 THE LAWS OF ORGANIC 



imperfectly digested food, which exhibited, especially to- 

 wards the cardiac extremity, many pieces of unaltered 

 vegetables; towards the pyloric, though somewhat better 

 digested, it was by no means so much so as in the latter 

 rabbit. The contents of the large intestines appeared per- 

 fectly concocted. 



The trachea of the following rabbit was not divid- 

 ed till the difficulty of breathing was obvious. About 

 half an inch of the par vagum on both sides was cut out. 

 Temperature 102. At five o'clock the respiration dif- 

 fered slightly from the state of health : the rabbit was 

 disposed to eat. At seven o'clock the respiration easy. 

 At eleven it was difficult. At one, A. M. the rabbit ran 

 across the room, and struggled, as the preceding had 

 done, at seven. Perceiving this, and believing it to origi- 

 nate from the same cause, I passed a probe down the tube 

 attached to the trachea, and had the satisfaction of seeing 

 the animal revive and breathe with almost the ease and regu- 

 larity of health. At eight o'clock in the morning the animal 

 seemed quite worn out ; its breathing was rather hurried 

 and weak, but not particularly laborious. The rabbit 

 reclined partly on its side ; and, when raised up, a small 

 quantity of mucus was observed to ascend in the brass 

 tube, accompanied by a sound similar to what is heard on 

 applying the ear to the chest of a phthisical patient in 

 whose lungs large cavities exist. At this time it was killed. 

 The temperature was taken immediately after death, and 

 found to be 105. 



Dissection. On opening the thorax the lungs collapsed, 

 and were of a healthy appearance in every part except the 

 posterior lobe on the left side, which was of a much darker 

 colour than the rest; they were throughout crepitant. 

 The stomach, of a small size, was filled with a perfectly 

 homogeneous matter of a soft consistence, and which had 



