ON THE CHOKING OF CATTLE. 
441 
with functional disease of the first stomach, had got a dose of 
physic the day before, which had operated. I advised the owner 
to give her a few bottles of salted gruel to make her drink, and 
then keep up the action of the purgative. Next morning I was 
sent for, and told that the cow was much worse, and not expected 
to live. I found her standing with her head and neck stretched 
out, breathing very fast and laboriously, and heaving at the flanks — 
pulse quick and hard — ears and feet rather cold — a good deal 
of mucus coming from the nose, and round the margin of each 
nostril a circle of hardened mucus mixed with particles of oatmeal 
gruel. There was considerable swelling and pain about the throat, 
and also emphysema of the posterior part of the neck, and on bbth 
sides of the body behind the shoulder, marking out exactly the 
line of the diaphragm — being confined entirely to the region of the 
thorax. The owner said that he attempted to give her the gruel 
the night previous, as directed, that he had hold of her by the 
nostrils with one hand, and the gruel in a bottle in the other; and 
that, on trying to swallow the first mouthful she coughed violently, 
and made a desperate plunge forward, so that he was obliged to 
relinquish his hold, and that he did not persist in giving her more 
of it. He also stated that the distressed breathing, & c. had com- 
menced immediately after this, and that she had neither tried to 
eat nor drink since. I attempted to pass some liquid down her 
throat, and found that she had great difficulty in swallowing from 
the soreness of the parts. It was evident from the symptoms of 
the case, coupled with its history, that the animal had been choked 
by a portion of the gruel finding its way into the air-passages ; and 
that, in consequence, a rupture had occurred in one or other of the 
bronchial tubes, permitting the escape of air into the cavity of the 
chest, and giving rise to the external emphysema, as was shewn 
by the fact of its being at first exclusively confined to the region 
of the chest. In treating the case there were evidently two indi- 
cations to fulfil : first, to subdue by active depletion the acute in- 
flammation of the air-passages ; and, second, as at the same time 
there was great constitutional depression arising from the exten- 
sive irritation of the cellular membrane, to pursue, coincidently 
with the antiphlogistic treatment, such a course as should prevent 
the patient sinking under it : so the case, on the whole, looked a 
very hopeless one. But I had the satisfaction of having a candid 
owner, who allowed that “ if the animal died his own hands had 
done it.” I drew blood from the jugular vein in the usual manner, 
but only obtained a small quantity, in consequence of the emphy- 
sema extending rapidly up the neck from the sternum, as soon as 
the skin was cut, and in a short time closing the orifice. 1 had 
better success with a severe blister applied to the throat and along 
