ON APTHA. 
686 
ten minutes together; he will then rally for a few minutes, but 
soon sinks into the former state. I punctured the swelling in a 
few places, from which issued a serous bloody fluid. He will not 
take any thing (and he is in that state in which it is impossible to 
use the horn) excepting a little cold water, which he appears 
to have great difficulty in sucking up. 
4 p.M. —I opened the palatine artery by dividingit within the 
upper lip. I obtained about three pounds of blood ; I also 
punctured the cheeks in several places. The eyes are now 
nearly closed by means of the swelling ; the horse remains in the 
same state of drowsiness as this morning. Pulse 56, irregular. 
7 P.M. —He is now become rather violent, requiring, at times, 
two men to hold him ; he continues to get gradually worse, each 
paroxysm being succeeded by one more violent: the skin appears 
to be distended to its utmost; the swelling is extending towards 
the anterior part of the chest. I remained with him until 
10 P.M.; he was then in that state that no one could approach 
him with safety: he fell down for a few minutes, then got up 
more violent than ever. The case being now hopeless, with the 
consent of the owner he was shot. 
Sectio cadaveris .— On dissecting back (on the following 
morning) the common integument clothing the face, head, and 
neck, I found the cellular membrane greatly infiltrated with 
serum; the parotid glands did not appear inflamed, but the sub¬ 
lingual and submaxillary were very much so. The membranes 
lining the larynx, epiglottis, and trachea, were greatly inflamed, 
thickened, and gangrened; they also partook of the serous effusion. 
On examining the thorax I found the lungs highly vascular, and 
gorged, as it were, with dark venous blood. I had not an oppor¬ 
tunity of examining the brain, in consequence of its being muti¬ 
lated by the shot. 
ON APTHA. 
JBy Mr, Harry Daws, New Bond Street, London, 
An Essay on Aptha, by Mr. Price, having appeared in No. 87, 
vol.viii, of The Veterinarian, I am induced to offer a few 
observations on the subject, having had frequent opportunities 
of witnessing the disease from its commencement to its termi¬ 
nation. 
I will not intrude upon your pages by quoting from authors 
250 years old, who were, after all, unacquainted with the malady; 
but will refer the reader to page 538 of Blaine's Veterinary 
