262 
TABES MESENTERICA. 
successive occasion s, and she appeared quite free from them. 
Nevertheless, no amendment took place ; but, on the contrary, 
great debility supervened. Carrots and every possible kind 
of nutritious food were obtained for her ; but yet she gradually 
continued wasting, was hide-bound, and became a wretched 
looking object. Thirst diminished ; scarcely drinking daily 
more than a quart of water. Excretions healthy ; but of 
course not frequent, from the small amount of nutriment 
consumed. Tonics and diffusible stimulants were administered 
for a long period, without any favorable result. At length 
they were ordered to be discontinued, and no further treatment 
adopted than generous diet, and attention to her comfort. As 
the spring advanced, she was with great difficulty and care 
led out in the sunshine, upon the Barrack Green, and 
allowed to nibble the young grass. This seemed to have a 
temporary beneficial effect : her coat became more glossy and 
healthy ; she appeared more lively, and 1 began to hope that 
a change had now taken place for the better. This however 
lasted for a few days only, when she again commenced to get 
worse; and on the morning of the 9th April, 1854, she fell 
down in her box from pure exhaustion and debility. The 
sphincter ani was relaxed, and there was every appearance 
of death about to take place. She died that night. 
Post-mortem examination showed the lungs moderately 
healthy, except at the apex of the near lung, where there were 
appearances of acute inflammation to a small extent. The 
stomach was healthy, but contained no particle of ingesta. 
The omentum could scarcely be traced. Liver and spleen 
healthy. The intestines were very wffiite and flaccid ; but, 
otherwise, presenting no unusual appearance. The mesenteric 
glands greatly enlarged, and very scirrhous. The mesentery 
itself was much attenuated, and appeared scarcely thicker 
than a spider’s web ; and near to that part where th£ colon 
terminates in the rectum was an immense large abscess, 
from which, when cut into, more than four quarts of creamy 
pus escaped ; and on further examining this tumor, a second 
cavity was found, which also contained nearly as much matter 
as the first one, and of the same consistency. The coats of 
this tumor were very dense in texture, being three quarters 
of an inch in thickness, almost cartilaginous, and it was with 
difficulty the knife opened it. 
For some weeks prior to death, I conceived this to be 
a case of tales mesenterica , and entertained but small hopes of 
recovery. In my opinion, had strangles come on in its 
natural form, at the period of the catarrhal symptoms, these 
mesenteric enlargements and abscesses would not have taken 
