382 TUMOURS OF THE HEART. 



another existed in the right ventricle. The latter, also adhe- 

 rent to. the wall, weighed from five to six ounces. The 

 remarkable feature of this case is, that two calves, about the 

 same age and out of the same cow, had died in previous 

 years, exhibiting the same symptoms before death. 



Mr Shenton describes a case of polypus cordis in an old 

 cow, in which the tumour grew from the septum. It is pro- 

 bable that not a few cases of heart disease owe their origin 

 to rheumatism, and a valuable case in favour of this view is 

 also recorded by Mr Shenton, in the twenty-fifth volume of 

 the Veterinarian. A filly suffered from lameness, for which 

 Mr Shenton's advice was sought. A month elapsed before a 

 second visit, when the animal was found emaciated, still lame, 

 and Mr Shenton considered it a case of rheumatism. Venous 

 pulse was discerned, and obstruction to the free course of 

 blood through the right side of the heart suspected. A fort- 

 night afterwards the filly was found dead in her box, and a 

 tumour was discovered in the free wall of the right ventricle. 

 The only other lesion consisted in enlargement of two or 

 three mesenteric glands. 



The above cases evidently belong to a class that chiefly 

 affect cattle, and are not often recognised during life. The 

 tumours owe their origin, probably, as my brother states, to 

 the organization of plastic matter thrown out in endocarditis, 

 as well as to the deposition of fibrine from the blood in layers 

 around such primary deposit. 



4. Fig. 118 represents a vascular tumour springing from 

 the right ventricle of a horse, and which I had an opportu- 

 nity of drawing from a specimen in the museum at the Turin 

 veterinary school. Like other tumours of the heart, its pre- 

 sonce was not diagnosed during the life of the animal. 



It was chiefly composed of venous varicosities with 

 coagula which had accumulated in sacular recesses. The 



