A SUSPICIOUS CASK OF SUDDEN DEATH. 
429 
4Ie was left in perfect health, and seen by accident at ten o’clock 
devouring his food as usual ; but at four o’clock on the next 
morning he was found lifeless in the box. The appearance of 
the wall and the toes of his hoofs proved that he had struggled 
much ; and the girth was rent asunder from the great swelling 
that had taken place. A part of the mash was left in the manger, 
which was afterwards given to an old worn-out hunter that was 
running in the field. In this state of confusion my attendance 
was requested, in order to superintend the opening of the body. 
On my arrival at tiie kennels, about nine o’clock, we com- 
menced the post-mortem examination ; and, after turning back 
the ribs and abdominal muscles, I took out the stomach and 
intestines whole. On opening the stomach, a slight inflamma- 
tion presented itself on the villous coat, in some parts worse 
than in others, but there was no intense disease : the small 
intestines were examined from end to end, all of which were per- 
fectly healthy, with the exception of one circular spot (about 
the size of a shilling) of active inflammation in the jejunum. 
The caecum was more inflamed than the stomach. The in- 
flammation was diffused in patches throughout its whole extent. 
The colon was more seriously patched, especially at its greater 
curvature. The rectum also was inflamed in patches, more par- 
ticularly towards its termination. The peritoneal covering was in 
a state of inflammation and ecchymosis between the reflections. 
The kidneys were healthy ; the bladder shewed a transverse line of 
inflammation on the inferior surface of the mucous membrane ; 
and one lobe of the liver was slightly diseased. The chest being 
laid open, the lungs presented a mass of congestion. The whole 
length of the trachea, particularly at its inferior surface and the 
commencement of the bronchial tubes, was highly inflamed. 
The membrane lining the larynx was also tinted with the same hue. 
The right ventricle and the left auricle of the heart were studded 
with spots of ecchymosis, differing in size, and being much 
larger in the former than in the latter cavity. The other auricle 
and ventricle were perfectly healthy. 
The encephalon came next under consideration, which exhi- 
bited no marks internally of extensive disease. I thought the 
corpora striata more vascular than usually met with in healthy 
brains ; but the numerous vessels revolving around the external 
convolutions of the cerebrum were filled to a state of congestion 
with dark purple blood, & c. 
Remarks . — Weighing this matter overas I proceeded with the 
knife, I could not avoid thinking that the animal must have been 
poisoned. The patches of inflammation in the intestines, particu- 
larly in the colon and caecum, and the congested vessels of the 
VOL. ix. 3 L 
