CASE OF SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 681 
acted upon by this enormous quantity of purgative medicine : in 
fact, she had no motion from the time that I first saw her. 
Post-mortem appearances. — The contents of thorax healthy — 
the diaphragm pale and flabby — the intestines and stomach free 
from inflammation — the contents of the bowels, from the stomach to 
the rectum, were soft and liquid. If the animal had lived a few hours 
longer, she would have been purged, which object I greatly wished 
for, as the ignorant are of opinion, regardless of the disease, that 
animals, when ill, must inevitably die unless something goes 
through them. The liver and spleen were healthy — the left 
kidney a little diseased — the posterior vena cava, from the dia- 
phragm backwards, was distended with very black blood — the iliac 
veins were distended to bursting — the bloodvessels of the cellular 
tissue covering the psoas muscles were ruptured ; a small quan- 
tity of coagulated blood was found there. I fancy that serious mis- 
chief was done to the mesenteric bloodvessels, or why should the 
intestines have been so obstinately constipated 1 
In order to shew that the diaphragm is more frequently affected 
than many people imagine, I will relate the singular case of a 
filly that evidently died from rupture of the jejunum caused by tape 
worms. 
March 15, 1836, I was called in the evening to a yearling 
blood filly in this neighbourhood : at 5 P.M. she was gallopping 
about, apparently well ; at 6 P.M. she was seen lying down and rolling 
over and over. I saw her at 8 P.M., with a deplorably dejected 
countenance — the head hung down — the legs and ears of an icy 
coldness — pulse 50, and weak — great tension of the abdomen — pres- 
sure on it causing intolerable pain, but otherwise perfectly insen- 
sible. When her companions were removed from her, she took no 
notice of them. I bled her ; gave ol. ricini and opiates, and had the 
abdomen fomented. 
At 9 P.M. I observed some very peculiar symptoms which lasted a 
few minutes, viz., violent convulsions of the diaphragm and inter- 
costal and abdominal muscles. She was left at 12 o’clock, and 
at four in the morning she was found lifeless. 
Dissection. — On dividing the linea alba, several large tape 
worms, swimming in liquid faeces, presented themselves to view. 
The contents of the bowels had escaped into the cavity of the abdo- 
men. The colon and caecum were exempt from these pernicious 
vermin ; but there was a strange quantity of them in the small 
intestines. About the middle of the jejunum there were two ori- 
fices of great size for such an intestine, and through which the 
worms escaped. The gut at this part was thickened and inflamed. 
The colt had done badly for some time. 
