CHAPTER YI. 
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
‘General remarks on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous Systent of 
the Horse. Stringhalt, Chorea, Shivering, “ Immobilité.” Megrims, or 
Congestion of the Brain. Mad Staggers, or Inflammation of the Brain. 
Epilepsy, Paralysis, Hydrocephalus, or Water on the Brain. Tumours 
of the Brain. 
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 
OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
DISEASES of the nervous system, as might be expected, are not nearly so 
frequently met with in the equine tribe as they are in man, and they present 
far less diversity of form and character. It is sufficiently clear that amid all 
the marchings and counter-marchings which have been taking place in the 
rapidly advancing civilisation of man, the most forced and rapid advancement 
is that which has been aptly termed the “march of intellect.” But, like 
other forced movements, it has been attended by many heavy penalties ; for 
aul forced marches, when repeated frequently, wear out the finest troops that 
were ever commanded by energetic generals. So has it béen with modern 
intellectual advancement, rendered imperative by the growing demand of 
progressive civilisation, which has been attended, as has been known for 
some time past, by those many forms of nervous exhaustion, which appear 
before us like spectres at every step. 
It is not our purpose here, to discuss this part of our subject further, 
but we may point out that the horse, by nature retiring, timid, and excitable, 
although as far as we know free from nervous diseases, while enjoying liberty, 
untouched by the hand of man, has likewise become subject to a list of 
maladies, fortunately not a long one, the results of confinement, and the 
artificial conditions which attend it. We shall treat of stringhalt, “shivering,” 
chorea, megrims, mad staggers, epilepsy, paralysis, water and tumours in the 
brain. Before describing these maladies, we may first consider briefly a few 
of the most important structural features of the nervous system; for these 
are of very great interest and importance. The nervous system of man and 
the higher animals consists of two portions—the cerebro-spinal and the 
sympathetic—each of which has certain characteristics in structural build, in 
