66 
ON TETANUS. 
young cart horse of small description. His lungs were not at all 
affected, which I consider rather an unusual circumstance. 
The next case of apparent idiopathic tetanus occurred to a horse 
that had been lately taken up from grass; low in condition, with 
staring coat, and, altogether, an unhealthy appearance. On 
inquiry, I understood that the groom had given him a dose of 
mercurial physic; the quantity or composition I was not able to 
ascertain. He had had the physic about thirty hours, and although 
I questioned the attendants very particularly as to the horse hav¬ 
ing shewn symptoms of pain, I could not learn that he had. 
The moment I saw him I told them that I could give them no 
hope of recovery; the jaws were completely fixed, tail and ears 
erect, &c. &c. with cold sweat; in fact, a more distressing case I 
never saw. The horse, when well, was not a valuable one, I there¬ 
fore recommended the owner to put him out of his misery as soon 
as possible. He consented, and wished me to examine him after¬ 
wards : I did so, and found a very considerable number of the 
large common ash-coloured worms (terites) in the stomach and 
small intestines. In some parts of the duodenum and jejunum 
the accumulations were such as to cause distention, and block up 
the passages. There was also a considerable quantity of mucus 
of an unhealthy appearance, and the villous coat had marks of 
irritation shewn by several parts of it being inflamed. There was 
no unhealthy appearance in the stomach, but the liver put on a 
very pale aspect. The sympathetic nerves in this case also were 
highly vascular. I examined the brain, and found the vessels of 
the pia mater unusually distended. The substance of the brain 
had a healthy appearance, but contained a rather more than usual 
quantity of water; the lungs were livid, somewhat tuberculous, 
and distended with blood. From the observations I have made, I 
am inclined to believe that, however difficult it may be to judge 
of the cause of an attack of tetanus in many instances from the 
absence of symptoms, yet in almost every case we may, by a care¬ 
ful examination after death, satisfy our minds in that respect. I 
will beg to state, that being called upon by our respected Secretary 
for a subject for discussion, it occurred to me that a few observa¬ 
tions on this disease might be the means of producing a useful 
evening’s discussion; and I beg to be understood that I do not 
presume to imagine similar inquiries and results have not occurred 
to many other of my professional brethren, although I do not 
recollect having seen the disease treated on by any veterinary 
writer, except in very general terms. I can only say, I shall feel 
highly gratified if the observations I have made should tend to 
induce among veterinarians generally a strict examination into its 
