124 SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 



action after the muscles of the chest had ceased to 

 contract, because being more independent of the will 

 it was not in the same degree subject to the influence 

 of the sensations. Thus the diaphragm continued to 

 move till that which at first was normal, in the end 

 became a spasmodic action. 



A little care will clearly ascertain this. The beat- 

 ing is from the posterior of the chest ; but if the ear 

 is applied to the side, the chief sound is perceived not 

 to come from the heart ; for the beating of the heart 

 can be heard distinct from the sound which is charac- 

 teristic of the disease. It can be most readily detected 

 at the sternum, a little below and behind the heart ; 

 from that point if a line proceeding obliquely upwards 

 and backwards be traced towards the commencement 

 of the loins, the thumping will be heard all along the 

 course marked out. The beatings of the heart and 

 this noise do not correspond. The heart throbs half as 

 quickly again. The diaphragm beats violently ; the 

 heart feebly. There can be no mistake about the 

 matter. As convulsions usually mark the last efforts 

 of expiring nature — thus spasmodic action generally 

 denotes extreme exhaustion, and therefore is a proof 

 of immediate danger. 



No one would bleed an animal in a state of utter 

 debility; the horse then wants a stimulant, for a 

 sedative would probably extinguish the flickering 

 flame of life. Bleeding would probably be fatal, and 

 too often the horse is murdered in this way. The 

 proper treatment would be first to administer a 

 diffusible stimulant in a fluid form ; it will have the 

 quickest and the most powerful effect. 



