RHEUMATISM IN THE HORSE. 
265 
wearing away from pain and fever. Being convinced that sad 
alteration of structure had taken place, both externally and inter- 
nally, I desired that the animal should be destroyed, which was 
accordingly done; and I examined the body. The swellings of 
the knee I found consisted of a serous and bloody fluid, in which 
floated shreds of tendons and ligaments, and, in one knee, the 
capsular ligament had given way. In the hock a complete ab- 
scess had formed among the sinews at the back, and was eating 
into their very substance, and extending some distance below : 
the thigh was also much diseased. In the abdomen there was a 
quantity of serum, in which flakes of lymph appeared floating 
about. Considerable adhesion of the viscera to the abdomen had 
also taken place, and appearance of inflammation about the loins. 
The pericardium likewise contained serum. Here the same class 
of membranes appeared diseased throughout, and, in my opinion, 
the case was of a rheumatic character. 
A case of very decided rheumatism in a pony lately came 
under my attention. I was first requested to look at him on ac- 
count of lameness of the off fore leg. He evinced considerable 
pain when the limb was raised, the seat of which was very dis- 
tinctly pointed out as the muscles of the shoulder. The animal 
had been driven rather a long journey on the previous day, and 1 
considered had been thereby strained. I bled from the arm, and 
ordered the shoulder to be fomented, &c., after which an embroca- 
tion was rubbed in. In the course of a week or two the lameness 
almost suddenly left him ; but in a few days afterwards he was 
lame in the off hind leg. I now pronounced it to be rheumatism. 
After awhile the lameness left him ; but shortly afterwards he 
was brought to me very ill with, as I considered, the symptoms of 
pleurisy. He was bled and otherwise treated, and the next day 
appeared much better. Soon afterwards he was lame in the near 
fore leg, then the near hind leg ; and the pony appeared to suffer 
much pain ; this went on getting gradually worse, and the ur- 
gency of the lameness appeared to fly from one joint and limb to 
another. Very little treatment was employed, as the owner did 
not wish to incur much expense, and the animal, though useful, 
was not very valuable. Opium, however, appeared to give only 
temporary relief, and poultices and external stimulants afforded 
no benefit. The upper joints of the hock became greatly dis- 
tended with synovia, producing both thorough-pins and bog- 
spavins ; the knees, too, were much swollen, but the swelling was 
hard, and promised to become bony. The pain was so great that 
the animal would scarcely get up, and then could stand with 
difficulty. At length, to cut the matter short, about two months 
from the commencement of the disease the animal died. 
VOL. xiv. 
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