359 
INTESTINES OF THE HORSE. 
/ 
his eye bright, pulse small and regular, his breathing in no way 
hurried, his legs free from swelling, his appetite good, as were 
his spirits. There was observed, however, one very remarkable 
Dccurrence; which was, that during the time from his first de¬ 
clining he w 7 as never found to be lying down in the stall. The 
animal w 7 as now reduced to so low a state of condition, that the 
case was considered a lost one: and accordingly, I ordered him 
to be destroyed. From the commencement of his attack, was a 
period of from six weeks to two months. 
About forty-eight hours prior to death, his appetite failed ,* and 
he shewed some peculiar and extraordinary symptoms; viz. with¬ 
out the least intermission, licking and nibbling the rack and 
manger, also his legs, shoulders, and body; and his persistance 
in this nibbling was such, that all our efforts to prevent him were 
unavailing. 
s 
Post-mortem Examination . 
On opening the body, the thorax and its contents appeared 
healthy. The villous membrane of the two large intestines, colon, 
caecum, and its appendix, were found of a dark red colour, ap¬ 
proaching in appearance to mortification: this dark colour did not 
extend to the peritoneum. On a closer inspection of the villous 
coat of the guts, were found clusters of ascarides, pretty uniformly 
covering the surface of the membrane : there was no ulceration 
or abrasion of the surface; so that, in my mind, the production 
of inflammation could only be accounted "for by the constant irri¬ 
tation of those animals, without destroying the part. 
I had an opportunity of noticing a case of this kind some time 
since ; and as far as my recollection serves, the appearance of the 
intestines was exactly similar to the present one, and fully bears 
out the cause of death. 
That ascarides exist in the intestines in many more horses, in 
all probability, than we are aware of; and that they are commonly 
the cause of lingering and hidden disease, terminating in death, 
without our knowledge of its nature, is, I think, apparent from 
these two instances. The emaciated state of the animal during 
the existence of the worms, we are enabled to account for, when 
it is considered what a large extent of absorbing surface the 
caecum and colon present for the absorption of chyle for the sup¬ 
port of the body ; and which process is counteracted by the mem- 
Drane being rendered incapable of performing that important 
function, and the chyle used for the support of the ascarides* 
John Percivall, F.V. 
