A CASE OF IDIOPATHIC TETANUS. 
215 
slightest noise or touch produces convulsive twitching of the mus- 
cles of the chest and abdomen — the eye is sunk deep in its or- 
bit, and half covered with the membrana nictitans — the eye 
itself remains unmoved when touched, but the lashes move 
quickly whenever any object approaches it. There is nothing 
of that rigor of the muscles of the tail which is generally seen 
in the horse, but his jaws are firmly closed, and quite im- 
moveable. 
Large doses of cathartics, opium, strychnia, and hydrocyanic 
acid, both by the mouth and as enemata, were given, with potent 
stimulants to the head and spine. The greatest attention was 
paid to quietude, clothing, and the general comfort of the poor 
suffering animal, and all with but transient relief, until three 
o’clock p.m. on the following day, when the proprietor deter- 
mined to put an end to his misery, which was effected by cutting 
his throat. I mention the mode of death, as it might influence 
the morbid appearances. 
Autopsia cadaveris one hour after death . — Abdomen : the peri- 
toneum free from inflammation. The first three stomachs were 
normal in their structure, but the rumen contained a large quan- 
tity of coarsely masticated food. The villous tunic of the fourth 
stomach was vascular, probably from the effects of the medicine, 
which, from its smell, &c., it evidently contained. Intestines 
normal, except the rectum, which was distended with hard faeces 
in small buttons, coated with albuminous matter, although large 
quantities of the same character had been removed by the ene- 
mata, &c. The bladder was distended with straw-coloured urine, 
but the mucous tunic was healthy. The kidneys, liver, and 
omentum, were in a natural state. The spleen was slightly con- 
gested and enlarged. The lungs congested — the right lobe mostly 
so, for he lay most on that side. The heart and other parts of 
the thoracic viscera were healthy in their structure. The pia 
mater was much congested, and the medullary substance some- 
what softened. The spinal marrow, in its course through the 
cervical and dorsal vertebrae, exhibited considerable injection of 
its vessels, which, in the lumbar division, increased to a dark 
tint, shaded with green, as if decomposition had already com- 
menced. 
I beg to ask your opinion, or that of some of your talented 
correspondents, Are these lesions characteristic of tetanus or pa- 
ralysis, or a complication of both ? Was it a case of tetanus 
consecutive on paralysis, as the jaws were not perfectly and 
rigidly closed until after he fell ? Lastly, does the morbid state 
of the lumbar portion of the spinal cord account for the distended 
state of the bladder and rectum ? 
