60 DADDS VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



The lethargic condition, therefore — dilated pupils, torpor,, and 

 reeling of the animal — indicate this serious difficulty in the sub- 

 stance of the brain or its cavities. 



Treatment. — Should the surgeon or the proprietor of the affected 

 animal desire to attempt a cure, the author recommends the following : 



No. 4 Fluid extract of stillingia, (queen's-root,) 4 oz. 



Fluid extract of bloodroot 3 oz. 



Powdered iodide of potass 1 oz. 



Water 6 oz. 



Dissolve the iodide in the water, and then add the stillingia and 

 bloodroot. 



Dose, two ounces, twice daily. Local treatment in this malady 

 does not amount to much, if any thing at all, for the only way in 

 which the matter within the brain can be got rid of, if got rid of 

 at all, is by exciting the absorbents to action, so that the matter may 

 be absorbed. At the same time, alteratives are to be used ; and, for 

 this purpose, the above prescription is recommended. 



Hydrocephalus (Dropsy of the Brain). 



Hydrocephalus is the termination of some disorder in the brain 

 itself, or the membranes surrounding it ; yet some medical writers 

 contend that dropsy is rather a symptom of disease than disease in 

 itself. It may be so in some cases, which constitutes the exception 

 to a general rule ; but the author regards dropsy of the brain a? 

 the last stage of organic disease of that organ. On the dissectior 

 of the brain of some horses that have died of this malady, scrofu- 

 lous tubercles are often found in the substance of the brain, and 

 tubercular deposits also manifest themselves on the membranes cov- 

 ering the brain. In fact, the pathological appearance revealed on 

 dissecting the brain of a horse which has died of hydrocephalus 

 does not differ from that found in the human subject. Condie says : 



" Tubercles, varying in size from that of a pin's head to that of 

 a pea, are very generally found scattered irregularly over the sur- 

 face of the pia mater, following it between the convolutions. Occa- 

 sionally, however, they occur in distinct patches of an inch or more 

 in extent. They are commonly hard and semi-transparent ; some- 

 times opaque, and of a whitish, grayish, or yellowish color. They 

 are found upon all parts of the surface, the coiwex and lateral por- 

 tions as w^ll as the base, in the infractuosities of the convolutions, 



