340 
MISCELLANEA. 
dorsal vertebrae, by the side of the superior spinous process of one 
of them, which was perfectly denuded of its natural covering, and 
smooth. Three inches from the top it was fractured. One end of 
the fracture was also worn nearly smooth, and the posterior part of 
the bone very much diseased. The muscles surrounding were 
in shreds, or, to use the term, eaten away. The neck of one of 
the costae was also broken : there was also general discoloration of 
the vertebral joints surrounding. The spinal canal was of a 
greenish hue : the contents of the cranium healthy, as were also the 
viscera of the abdomen, with the exception of the lungs and liver, 
the former very much congested, the latter somewhat like putty 
in texture and colour. 
This horse was at work up to the day before his attack, and, to 
all appearance, fresh and well. He was never known to have 
been injured in any way. My prognosis, when I first saw him, 
was, “a diseased brain or spine and I was much surprised to find 
what 1 did on a post-mortem examination. I should say, from the 
appearance of the diseased parts, the injury was of some months’ 
standing. 
Spontaneous Cure of Cataract in a Stallion. 
By Herr Prehr, V. S. 
In the spring of 1839 two young stallions were placed under the 
care of Herr Prehr, veterinary surgeon to the district. Both were 
suffering from influenza, and considerable inflammation of the eyes. 
One had a cataract in the right eye, which had been brought on by 
repeated attacks of moon-blindness. The opacity of the crystalline 
lens, in this animal, was produced by three dark spots, two of which 
were so close together as nearly to come into contact with each 
other. The vision was thus contracted, and almost appeared to be 
closed up. 
After the influenza was cured, Herr Prehr, having been to some 
distance, to his great astonishment, observed that the cataract had 
entirely disappeared. The pupil appeared to be again open — the 
crystalline lens was clear and transparent — the retina and choroides 
shone through it with a blueish hue — and the eye wholly regained 
its former visual power. No trace remained of the previous dis- 
eased alteration of the eye, excepting an exceedingly small white 
point on the capsule of the lens, which did not in the slightest de- 
gree interfere with vision. A small portion, of a grape-like sub- 
stance, which had, in consequence of previous adhesion, been torn 
from above, now hung at the lower edge of the pupil. Several 
months afterwards the eye became perfectly sound. 
Magazin fur die gesammte Thierheilkunde, 1843, p. 83. 
