40 
SPASMODIC COLIC. 
opium the horse seems sleepy, but after aconite he is able 
directly to undergo physical exertion, there being no head 
symptoms. I may here say that although I am fond of 
opium, and give it alone, I have seen no costiveness result 
from its exhibition. I, too, have used the tobacco fumigator 
with not very decided results. Very rarely do I lose a 
case from spasmodic colic ; and this I attribute to the 
mode of treatment pursued. When, however, a fatal result 
does happen, it will be traceable more to the existence of 
worms than to any other cause, and in this only when 
they exist in such large quanties as to bring the patient 
into an anaemic state of body. 
In contraction of the involuntary muscles of the intestines, 
we find the blood-vessels in a constringed state; therefore, 
the treatment which must suggest itself primarily to the 
thinking mind is the administration of a stimulant. Heat 
and enlarged blood-vessels are its effect on the intestines, 
and the cramp is quickly overcome. 
Should the stimulant fail in its effects, a sedative must 
be had recourse to (as intussusception is liable to ensue), 
which will tend to quiet the nervous system, and produce 
relaxation of the involuntary muscles of the body, which is 
the sine qua non to success. I make it a rule never to have 
recourse to phlebotomy. The state of the pulse which is 
normal does not indicate it, and where it has been satis- 
factorily had recourse to it takes some time before the 
patient becomes thoroughly convalescent. Even then it is 
often noted cold sweats will frequently occur; he will be 
found less able to undergo physical exertion, and will 
frequently become predisposed as it were to the disease. 
After that exhaustion comes on as death approaches, and if 
we, by bloodletting, hasten on artificially that exhaustion, 
it will become no wonder that frequently cases will slip 
through our hands. To my mind sedatives supply the place 
of venesection, as after their effects have subsided the animal 
reassumes a tranquil state. Unfortunately we do not allow 
nature to have her voice in it, as it will be found in a great 
many instances. She possesses per se the power of arresting 
the disorder. I, too, have noticed that when I have had 
recourse to venesection the number of deaths over recoveries 
have greatly increased. 
Cadaveric lesions . — On making an autopsy the contents 
of the thoracic, pelvic, and most of the abdominal viscera 
present a normal appearance. There is no inflammatory 
action present to account for the severe pain which the 
subject laboured under ; there is not even increased vascu- 
