CASES OF PALSY IN THE HORSE - 285 
18*//.—] n the same state. It was determined to bleed him to 
death. 
Post-mortem examination immediately after death. —There was 
no considerable lesion in any of the viscera of the thorax or ab¬ 
domen, except that within the lining membrane of the left ven¬ 
tricle of the heart there were spots of ecchymosis, resembling 
those found in the last case. 
The muscles that surround the lumbar vertebrae, and par¬ 
ticularly the psoas, were unusually pale and soft. 
The cerebral mass retained its ordinary consistence and colour, 
and its membranes had undergone no alteration. 
The liquid that escaped when the membranes of the spinal 
cord were cut through was colourless and transparent. 
On the arachnoid membrane of the spinal cord, at the middle 
of the dorsal region, and on its superior part, was a patch of vi¬ 
vid redness, which formed a singular contrast with the pale tint 
of the rest of the membrane. This patch, which extended from 
fifteen to eighteen lines in length, and from six to seven in width, 
was surrounded by an areola of a reddish yellow colour, and 
which was gradually lost in the general colour of the arachnoid. 
Believing, at first sight, that this was to be attributed to ecchy¬ 
mosis on the surface, or in the substance of the membrane, we 
examined it with close attention, but could not discover the 
slightest vascularity. A piece of white paper being placed in 
contact with both the surfaces of the membrane, was not red¬ 
dened even after it had been lightlv rubbed along the membrane. 
This partial discolouration, then, was evidently not the result of 
ecchymosis, but was produced by an intimate combination of the 
blood with the tissue of the membrane. Whatever may have 
been the nature of the lesion, we had never before met with these 
appearances on a serous membrane, the portion of the medullary 
organ wfith which it corresponded not having lost any of its 
natural characters. 
The only lesions which the cord itself presented were in the 
lumbar portion of it. We there observed the commencement of 
a softening process ( ramollissement ), but which had not yet 
reduced the medullary substance to the state of pulp in which 
we have sometimes seen it. The spinal marrow preserved its 
natural form : it was only slightly tinged with yellow ; but when 
it was pressed between the fingers, in order to ascertain its con¬ 
sistence, it was easily crushed, and the softness increased 
towards the centre of the cord. This friability was most evident 
in the inferior columns. 
The central grey portion of the spinal cord was that in which 
this change was most advanced : it was a perfect pulp, and of a 
VOL. VII. P p 
