230 
Splenic Apoplexy. 
materials of a deleterious or poisonous nature liad entei'ed into the- 
organism, and excited a fermentive action in the blood. Professor 
Buckman would explain at length the general nature of the herbage- 
in the fields in question. His own remarks had reference merely 
to the fact that in the careful examination which he had originally- 
made he had failed to detect any poisonous plants in the pastures. 
Water enters largely into the composition of the blood. There- 
are no less than 78-i parts of water in every 1000 parts of blood; 
and, as water often holds in solution a variety of materials, and 
goes directly, so to express it, into the vessels from the intestinal 
canal, by the simple law of endosmosis, it follows that matters 
detrimental to the blood may be thus conveyed into the system, 
and induce certain changes in the composition and character of the- 
blood which may prove fatal to life. In the district in question; 
the water was strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, 
and hence totally unfitted for man or animals. 
But water, or rather a want of it, might likewise induce this 
disease. Two years ago he was consulted respecting an extensive 
fatality among some cattle in Norfolk, said to arise from splenic 
apoplexy. It was during the winter months, and the animals were- 
being fed at the time on oil-cake, roots, hay, &c. On investigating 
the disease he was led to the conclusion that the water must be 
implicated in its production. He communicated this opinion to the 
owner, when he received the quaint reply, " You never made a 
gi'cater mistake, for it is my custom not to allow my animals any 
water at all while in the sheds." He (Professor Simonds) hesitated 
not to express his belief that it was the want of water which 
induced a diseased condition of the blood in this instance. Of 
course such a state of things was altogether opposed to nature. To 
understand this the better, ho would again remind them of the large 
quantity of water that naturally existed in blood, as this would 
show how the blood would necessarily become altered in its fluidity 
by an animal being deprived of water. The case would likewise 
help to prove that changes were wrought in the blood by causes- 
the very opposite of each other. 
An interesting question arises as to how far the spleen may be 
originally concerned in the production of a morbid state of the 
blood, and ^yhether pathologists are justified in regarding' the 
affection as depending essentially on changes in the function of the 
spleen. The use of the spleen is, even at the present time, but ill 
understood, and may be said to be almost an enigma in science. 
On the one hand, many eminent physiologists are of opinion that 
it has to do with the disintegration of the red corpuscles of the 
blood, which become broken up in its structure ; while, on the 
other liand, there are jAysiologists of equal eminence who declai-e 
that the organ is a preparer of the red cells. The prevalence of 
these two o])inions shows that the true physiology of the sjilcou is' 
not well understood. If he might presume to give an opinion, ho 
would say that he considered the spleen to bo an organ which 
exerts a disintegrating power upon the red cells of the blood, lle.^ 
