258 
SINGULAR ATTEMPT TO BLEED A COW. 
By Mr. FRANCIS King, Stanmore. 
To the respected Editors of “ The Veterinarian .” 
Dear Sirs, — HAVING rather an uncommon case under hand, 
which appears to me to involve some practical points, I have sent 
you this for your adoption, or not, as you may think it worthy. 
The subject is a cow, on which an attempt had been made to 
bleed. The operation was somehow badly performed : the vein 
was several times struck before blood was drawn, and her owner 
said it was very “ bunglingly” performed at last. Phlebitis, which 
is of rather an uncommon occurrence in a cow, succeeded ; and a 
considerable extent of the vein, including the whole of the upper 
branches as far as they can be felt, and following the course of 
the vein quite (beyond the power of ascertainment by the finger) 
into the chest, became enveloped in the disease. I saw her for 
the first time three or four days back ; she has a decidedly hectic 
kind of cough, and her respiration is much affected by exercise, 
with all the symptoms of peripneumonia attending. Now it occurs 
to me, from the nature and the result of the accompanying histo- 
ries, that absorption of pus from the coat of the inflamed vessel is 
the cause of all the apparent mischief. Some years ago I com- 
monly used, in inflammation of the udder, to draw blood from the 
milk-vein. On one occasion inflammation supervened, and ex- 
tended gradually along the course of the vein quite to its entrance 
into the abdomen. Every means were adopted to arrest its pro- 
gress, but the animal soon began to exhibit general disorder of the 
system, with loss of substance and appetite, and at last sank. 
On post-mortem examination, the whole contents of the chest 
were much diseased. Some time afterwards (never having met 
with a similar result) I bled a cow from the same vein. Inflam- 
mation attended ; and the above case coming to my recollection, 
and this one promising a similar course, I determined on taking up 
the vein bet ween the opening and its entrance into the abdomen. 
I cast her, and made an extensive incision along the course of the 
vein until I came to a portion that was quite free from inflamma- 
tory action. I passed two ligatures round the vein, and divided 
it between them : the consequence was, a quiet subsidence of in- 
flammatory action. The cow did well; and, rather contrary to 
my calculation (the milk-vein being always so full of blood during 
lactation), no increase of inflammation attended the side of the 
udder which had suffered so great an interruption to its vascular 
