Parturient Eclampsia in the Mare 917 



mus, and the jaws were wholly immovable. As in the pre- 

 ceding case, there was violent spasm of the diaphragm.' She 

 was bled freely from the jugular, and given large and repeated 

 doses of belladonna and cannabis Indica. For nearly thirty-six 

 hours the S5-mptoms remained about the same, when they began 

 to abate rapidly, and in 48 hours after the beginning of the 

 attack the mare was in her usual health. 



On the same day, on a neighboring farm, I attended another 

 grade draft mare with a similar history of recent easy parturi- 

 tion, healthy foal at her side, etc. Prior to my arrival, she had 

 shown a similar train of symptoms to those noted above ; but 

 the owner delayed calling me, so that upon my arrival I found 

 the animal prostrate on her side, the whole muscular system 

 thoroughly tetanized, the eyes set and insensible to light, firm 

 trismus, well-marked opisthotomos, repeated severe convulsions 

 of the entire body, readily increased by any sudden noise. 



Barring the want of protrusion of the membrana nictatans and 

 the greater nervousness, the case closely simulated recumbent 

 tetanus. The animal succumbed after about twenty-four hours. 



In another case I was called to attend a full-blood draft foal, 

 •five or six days old, which was suffering from lameness. In 

 order that the foal might be well attended, the mare was brought 

 from the pasture and placed in the stable. The next morning I 

 was hurriedly called to attend the mare, which I had seen the 

 previous day in apparently perfect health and unusually robust 

 and vigorous. Upon my arrival at the farm I found her greatly 

 agitated, the whole body tetanized, with constant clonic twitch- 

 ings, spasmodic movements of the limbs, hurried, labored respi- 

 rations, nostrils widely dilated, visible mucous membranes of a 

 dark livid hue, firm trismus and profuse sweating. When on 

 her feet she could not stand still, but continually moved about 

 involuntarily, and so very uncertainly that she could scarcely 

 be approached with safety. The perspiration was so profuse 

 that it streamed from the dependent parts of her body, the nose 

 was poked out, the head elevated, the back arched, the tail 

 erected, giving the entire body the posture assumed in severe 

 tetanus ; but the well-marked protrusion of the membrana nicta- 

 tans seen in the latter disease was wanting. The animal would 

 lie down frequently, usually on the sternum, in which position 

 she became more tranquil and apparently obtained some relief. 



