ANATOMY OF THE BEAVER. 
553 
minal cavity, we may perceive, that, even in man himself, 
there exists a certain provision for its sudden accumulation 
in some of the abdominal organs, as the spleen and liver. 
We are not yet acquainted with all the physiology of these 
organs, though the subject has been very excellently in- 
vestigated by Sir Everard Home, in his various experi- 
mental inquiries into the functions of the spleen. It would 
seem that, during digestion, there is a very considerable 
accumulation of blood in these two organs, and that, more- 
over, the spleen is more directly filled with fluids by ve- 
nous absorption from the cardiac portion of the stomach. 
I had an opportunity of observing both these facts in the 
examination of a horse which dropt suddenly dead in the 
field. The circumstances attending his death were briefly 
these : he had been hunted during the morning for about 
five hours of a very hot day, and baited at noon ; he was 
a powerful horse, and his rider did not exceed ten stone 
weight. As the horses came in very warm from the chase, 
great care was taken that they should eat previously to 
drinking water, and they were accordingly allowed to graze 
for somewhat more than an hour, and then to drink at w ill. 
The subject of the present history was observed to do as 
the rest. The lapse of a few minutes occurred at saddling, 
and they were rode off gently at a moderate trot; but be- 
fore proceeding three hundred yards, the animal began to 
stagger, drew up his legs under him, and in a few seconds 
expired. Naturally anxious to ascertain the cause of death, 
I examined him immediately after. The heart and lungs 
were apparently sound, the stomach quite full of food, but 
did not contain a drop of liquid; the spleen moderately full 
of blood ; but we all observed the deficiency of blood in 
the integuments and in the abdominal viscera generally, as 
also in the limbs, so much so, that no blood followed the 
incisions by Avlnch the abdominal and thoracic cavjtics were 
