567 
Rupture of the Liver occasioned by a Ki«k. 
By M. Millot, V.S., at Vitteaux. 
On the 10th of May, 1829, I was sent for at four o’clock in 
the afternoon, to visit a horse five years old. He was uneasy ; 
pawed the ground with his fore-feet; his coat stared; his ex¬ 
tremities and ears were cold; his nostrils dilated; and the mucous 
membrane pale; the expired air cold ; the flanks agitated; res¬ 
piration accelerated; continually striking the ground with his 
hind feet; he gazed at his flanks, and had light shiverings; he 
sometimes lay down on his right side, and then groaned. Per¬ 
cussion on the abdomen, scarcely felt on the right side, was 
painful on the left: the pulse was seventy,small and concentrated; 
the animal refused all food. 
I ordered two bottles of a cold infusion of camomile flowers 
and mint leaves, to each of which was added a spoonful of sul¬ 
phuric ether. Emollient injections; frequent hand-rubbing; and 
frictions over the limbs with equal parts of essence of lavender 
and turpentine. 
I returned at eight o’clock. He was standing up, fixed in his 
place, his muzzle resting upon the manger: the pulse was very 
small and frequent. On pressing on the lower part of the flank 
on one side, and causing the other to be supported, we heard a 
peculiar noise, which announced the presence of a fluid in that 
cavity. The servant said that the animal had fed as usual at 
nine o’clock, and drunk at ten, which he had not seen him do 
afterwards. 
We suspected peritonitis, and ordered four pounds of blood to 
be abstracted. The blood ran slowly, although the incision was 
large : an emollient cataplasm was then placed under the belly," 
and handrubbing and irritating frictions applied to the limbs. 
At one o’clock in the morning the groom who had been left 
with the horse called me, and said that he was much worse. He 
had lain down several times, and then had raised himself again, 
placing his fpre feet in the manger: he remained some time in 
that position. 
On my arrival I found him with his head resting on the bottom 
of the manger, and he was pushing with his forehead against the 
wall; his limbs were separated as far as possible from one another, 
and the centre of gravity thrown forward ; there was shivering 
and spasm of the principal muscles. My eftbrts to make him 
quit that position occasioned a new access of spasm: he pawed 
violently for nearly five minutes, and then replaced himself as 
