168 
ON THE DISEASES OF THE SPINAL CHORD. 
brought to the hospital of the School of Alfort, Feb. 23, 1829, 
for enlargement of the lateral cartilages of the right fore foot, 
and which it had had six months. It underwent an operation, 
in which the carious cartilage was removed. During the ope¬ 
ration the animal struggled violently, and on being released it 
could not put the lame limb to the ground. The fetlock gave 
way forwards as soon as the foot was placed on the ground. 
When the animal rested on the foot on that side, he did not 
seem to have any feeling, but supported himself mechanically; 
the whole limb flexing at the same time, and the horse threat¬ 
ening to fall every moment. This was attributed to a numbness 
occasioned by the hobbles during the operation, which lasted a 
long w'hile. Friction was applied over the whole of the limb, 
and eight pounds of blood were abstracted. There was very 
little symptomatic fever. 
27ih .—The foot was placed upon the ground ; the fetlock was 
always flexed: from time to time the animal struck the ground 
with the lame limb, and the concussion seemed to give him some 
pain. This shoulder was evidently lower than the other. Fric¬ 
tions of essence of lavender were used, morning and night, for 
three days. 
March 3d .—The wound was healthy, but the limb remained 
in the same state. When the leg was pricked, the muscles 
contracted, and shewed that there were some remains of feeling. 
7th .—-There was gradual diminution of sensibility, and the 
power of moving. 
8th .—Complete palsy of the limb. The whole of the limb 
was covered with a stimulating charge. 
18th .—The animal was in good spirits, and fed well. We 
began to give the nux-vomica once every day, and increasing 
the dose in the following proportions, six, twelve, fifteen, and 
twenty grains. 
25th .—The wound was going on as well as it possibly could 
do; but the motion of the limb is altogether lost, and the mus¬ 
cles are in a perfect state of atrophy. 
27 tlu —The animal was abandoned, and destroyed. 
The teres major, and the scapular portion of the triceps ex¬ 
tensor brachii, were very hard. The articulations, and the nerves 
of the limb, did not present any alterations: the brain was 
sound. The spinal marrow, at the bending of the neck, was 
softened and changed to a pultaceous and red matter ; this soft¬ 
ening was about two inches in extent, and its principal situation 
was in the fascise corresponding with the paralyzed limb. Four 
pairs of nerves concurred to form the plexus proceeding from 
this softened mass; but we could not trace their origin into the 
