628 
ATROPHY OF THE MUSCLES OF THE LOINS. 
parts assumed a skeleton-like appearance. The excretions 
were all healthy, and the appetite good. I applied stimulat- 
ing embrocations and cataplasms repeatedly, and also blistered 
the parts, but without any benefit. 
On the 22d, she suddenly fell, and being unable to get up, 
she was raised by mechanical means, and slung. She did 
not, however, appear to suffer any great amount of pain 
from this attack. 
An examination,^/ rectum , did not disclose anything ab- 
normal on the under-side of the spine. I ordered her to be 
kept in slings, and, although she was in foal, she stood per- 
fectly comfortable and quiet. When allowed to lie down, to 
see if there was any improvement in her power of rising, she 
would turn round in her endeavours to get up. I treated her 
with strychnia, looking upon the case as one depending upon 
a loss of nervous energy more than anything else. I gave 
her two grains of the drug, night and morning, and soon in- 
creased the dose to three grains, which had the effect of 
producing violent muscular contractions. Notwithstanding 
this, the strychnia was cautiously continued. 
Throughout February and March, the wasted muscles re- 
sumed much of their original development, but, unfortunately, 
not their usual strength ; for, in letting her down from the 
slings, she could not rise without assistance. I therefore 
resolved to keep her in the slings until she foaled, which she 
did in May, producing a fine healthy filly-foal, with as little 
disturbance to the system as is ordinarily seen in parturition. 
A fortnight after she had foaled I let her down again, to see 
if there was any improvement, but she was still no better. 
I now recommended that she should be slung in the open 
field, that the foal might have liberty to get at grass. This was 
done and continued from June to August 23d, when she 
fell out of the slings, and not having any more power to rise 
than originally, and the foal being now able to care for itself, 
she was destroyed. 
The post-mortem examination did not bring to light any 
abnormal state of the viscera of the body ; even the spinal 
cord, which was, undoubtedly, the primary seat of the disease, 
appeared to be healthy, so far, at least, as I could judge. 
There was no fracture of any of the vertebrae or tumour to be 
found in the spinal canal, nor any softening of the cord, 
or change in its colour. My opinion was, from the first, that 
it was most likely that no sufficient cause for such a state of 
things would be demonstrated. 
I think the case interesting from several facts appertaining 
to it. 
