ENLARGEMENT OF THE SPLEEN IN THE HORSE. 21 0 
existed, but it was beyond my reach, and I concluded diminished 
to its natural size. 
CASE IV. 
The fourth was in Tom, another horse belonging to the same 
gentleman, who was troubled with an inveterate cutaneous affec¬ 
tion, for which I introduced, by way of experiment, large quan¬ 
tities of mercury into the system by friction. The hair was 
shaved off along the course of the spine, and on the inside of the 
thighs, and two active men were employed in rubbing in the 
strongest mercurial ointment for nearly an hour for eight or nine 
days following. This oppressed his breathing, swelled his body 
to an uncommon size, rendered his mouth sore, and produced a 
discharge of saliva; there was no mucus in the intestines, nor 
any in the urine, but it was of a very high colour, and very 
pungent. The standard of his pulse was twenty-four, intermitting 
every third stroke; and he had a peculiar stiffness in his hind 
legs. His health appeared generally good, and he was able to 
stand a hard day’s hunt; but his spleen is, I am certain, larger 
than either of the other horses’ were. As it reached back as far 
as the pelvis, it must be more than three feet in length, and I 
should judge twenty pounds weight. I saw him in May 1830, 
looking tolerably well. 
CASE y. 
Also another, belonging to Major Lane, of Guernsey. The 
spleen weighed fourteen pounds and a half; the liver was per¬ 
fectly healthy. The horse had never done any work, but had 
always an unthrifty appearance, his old coat sticking to him; 
and he was subject to fits of ague, with great trembling: he was 
destroyed as useless. There was this difference from any of the 
beforementioned cases,—that the splenic artery was completely 
clogged up with coagulated blood; worms were found in the 
pancreas, and in the mesenteric gland. This is by no means 
uncommon, as I believe they will be found there in five cases out 
of ten, in horses that have been subject to them for a great 
length of time. While on this head, I would also observe, that 
horses are frequently, in the spring, seen rubbing the hair of 
their tails, sometimes occasioned by large quantities of hots 
lodging in the upper part of the rectum, just under the sacral 
vertebrae, causing great irritation and uneasiness to the animal: 
their expulsion, by introducing the hand and pullling them off, is 
a great relief to the tormented animal. 
