OSTITIS AFFECTING THE RIBS OF A HORSE. 561 
place, I had it well rubbed night and morning with Lin. 
Sapon. C et Ol. Tereb. 
Dec. 1st. — As the enlargement is increasing, and still con- 
tinues hard, it was blistered; and on the 8th and 15th the 
Ung. Hyd. Biniodid. was well rubbed in. From this date 
the animal began to show symptoms of greater lameness, and 
moved on one side, dragging his near fore leg along the ground. 
By the 22d, the swelling had increased considerably, and had 
now become soft, with every indication of fluid being con- 
tained within it, but yet it did not feel like an ordinary abscess. 
There was no pointing at any one spot. Notwithstanding 
this, I determined to open it, when I gave exit to a small 
quantity of blood and a serous-looking fluid, having a fetid 
smell. I was enabled to pass a probe into the opening to 
the extent of eight inches, but could not even now quite 
satisfy myself of the true nature of the case. The parts were 
dressed with Ung. Tereb., with a hope of obtaining a dis- 
charge of healthy pus. 
From this time the swelling increased to such an extent, 
that the owner wished to know if I had any objection to 
another opinion being obtained. To this I readily assented, 
believing it to be a very unusual case; and on the 27th, 
Mr. Mavor, jun., met me in consultation. Mr. Mavor thought 
that the case bore several features of an aneurismal con- 
dition of some of the adjacent blood-vessels. He extended 
the opening which I had made, gave orders that the sur- 
rounding parts should be kept well wetted daily with cold 
water, and the cavity filled up with pledgets of tow. After 
this, for a day or two together, blood would ooze from the 
wound, to the amount of a gallon, or even more. The fetor 
also became so great that it required dressing twice a day with 
Sol. Calc. Chlor. The animal now lost flesh very fast, al- 
though he fed well, and which he continued to do up to the 
middle of January, when he gradually lost his appetite. 
On the 20th, a surgeon, a friend of the owner, saw him, 
and considering with myself that there was no chance of the 
animal’s recovery, he wished that the opening might be still 
more enlarged, and the parts further examined. The ope- 
ration was accordingly performed, the incision being in- 
creased to about fifteen inches in length. By this means a 
large clot of coagulated blood, which must have weighed at 
the least fourteen or fifteen pounds, was removed ; and on 
examination with the fingers, I could now distinctly feel two 
of the ribs denuded of their periosteum, and presenting quite a 
roughened surface. From this cause I was inclined to believe 
that they must have been originally broken, and that at 
