CASE OF DILATATION OF THE HEART, &C. 339 
with very strong blister ointment, and I administered three pints 
of red wine. 
I saw the horse again at six o'clock in the evening: he was still 
up; the respiration was more and more difficult; the cellular 
infiltration of the belly and limbs had entirely disappeared. He 
fell at eight o'clock, and died immediately, and with scarcely 
a struggle. 
The post-mortem examination did not take place until noon on 
the 20th. The atmosphere had, since his death, been hot and 
damp. The muscles were discoloured; the abdominal cavity 
contained a great quantity of limpid pink-coloured liquid ; a very 
small quantity of food was found in the stomach and intestines ; 
their tissues were pale and almost bloodless: the surface of the 
liver was of a greenish hue—its substance tore with the greatest 
facility; when it w T as divided with a sharp instrument, a few 
drops of fluid and very dark blood exuded : a multitude of empty 
cavities were visible on the surface of the cut, some being sur¬ 
rounded by a yellow-coloured tissue, whilst the tissue round others 
was of a brownish hue. 
The drops of liquid of which I have spoken were mingled with 
some gas, which escaped from the surface of the divided tissue. 
I did not observe any lesion of the abdominal vessels; they 
contained only a small quantity of very fluid blood, particularly 
the venous system. The spleen was rather larger than its 
natural size, and its surface was corrugated. It contained some 
very black blood, which was in so liquid a state that, after having 
transversely divided the spleen, I could almost entirely empty it, 
by holding its point suspended in the air. The corrugations 
which I before mentioned make me think that this receptacle of 
the blood had contained for some time past a great quantity of 
fluid. The aspect of the kidneys was so particular, that those 
about me were inclined to attribute it to putrefaction. The 
adipose tissue which envelopes them was more consistent and 
dense than it is in its natural state. These organs were not of 
their proper form; they occupied much less space than usual, 
their surface was unequal, and several very deep holes were per¬ 
ceptible. The exterior substance was soft; it was broken by its 
own weight; it had very little smell, and contained but little 
fluid, and was of a livid colour. The renal substance which 
surrounds the pelvis was flabby and discoloured, but not easily 
cut through with a knife. This appearance of the kidneys, 
which might readily be attributed entirely to putrefaction, seemed 
to me to be principally owing to the bloodless state of the animal 
before death. The dryness of the liver was also probably caused 
by the enorn>ous quantity of fluid which the animal lost during 
