DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY PASSAGES AND ORGANS. 97 



the larynx, the animal evinces signs of uneasiness, suffocation, and 

 pain. Soon the mucous, schneiderian, and conjunctivial mem- 

 branes become reddened, the eyes protrude, the tongue tumefies, 

 and external tumefaction in the region of the throat may be ob 

 served. Febrile symptoms are also present, manifested by cold- 

 ness of the exterior and increased temperature of the interior 

 parts. The nose appears dry, and the mouth is full of frothy saliva 

 (sometimes lymphy mucus), and some difficulty is encountered in 

 opening the latter. 



History of the Disease. — The following case, from the author^ 

 note-book, will probably prove interesting to the reader: The 

 patient, a roan mare, aged seven. Temperament, lymphatic. 

 Just arrived, in company with several other horses, from Ohio. 

 The property of Mr. Banford, Merrimac stable, Boston. Our 

 patient had been "ailing" some three or four days before our 

 services were secured, at which time she was laboring under 

 " alarming symptoms " bordering on suffocation. The pulse was 

 indistinct, small, thready, and difficult to number, yet probably 

 exceeded sixty. The breathing was croupy, or stertorous, and 

 could be heard at a distance of several yards. The nostrils were 

 dilated, and from them issued a lymphy discharge, mixed with traces 

 of blood. The submaxillary space was somewhat tumefied, hard, 

 unyielding, and seemed to constrict the larynx and its associate 

 muscles. The eyes were prominent, their membranes congested, 

 and streaks of tears escaped over the inner canthus. The flanks 

 were bedewed with a cold, clammy perspiration. The tips of th« 

 ears were quite cold, and the limbs the same. Auscultation, 1a 

 the region of the larynx, revealed a very laborious and crepitating 

 mucous rale. The trachea itself seemed to be free from obstruc- 

 tion. Thoracic auscultation elicited nothing tending t»e diow that 

 the lungs were involved. 



The patient appeared to be in a deplorable, in fact dying, con- 

 dition, making a sort of gasping effort to inflate the lungs. There 

 was little time to spare; and being satisfied that the larynx 

 was the seat of obstruction, we immediately cut down upon the 

 trachea, about five inches below the thyroid cartilage, and ampu- 

 tated, from between two rings of the trachea, a piece, of an oval 

 shape, corresponding in size to the caliber of Arnold's tracheotomy 

 tube, which was the instrument used on this occasion. So soon 

 «a the opening into the trachea was effected, the patient experi- 



