o88 
A CASE OF SPINVL MENINGITIS. 
44. Pressure on the sides is not so painful; looks lively, and 
would eat more if it were given to him. Fever ball, with two 
drachms of the physic mass. 
7 p.M. —The case is altogether altered. The pulse has risen 
to 70, and is very hard. The respiration is laborious, and the 
horse is evidently suffering great pain. The near fore-leg is 
curiously flexed, and the horse stands with its toe just touching 
the ground. The foot, and the whole of the limb, are perfectly 
cool, but the horse flinches when he is pressed on the shoulder 
of that side, or on the back. I immediately bled him again until 
he began to sigh, which was when eight pounds had flowed. 
The horse was sadly fidgetty, or rather violent, and I had con¬ 
siderable difficulty in pinning the vein. I ordered the shoulder 
to be well fomented with hot water, and particularly about the 
subscapular portion of the triceps, where the pain seemed to be 
most intense, and the muscle was hard and cordy. I then re¬ 
peated the fever ball, with three drachms of physic mass, con- 
tainino; about 3ii of Barbadoes aloes. 
11^^, 8 A.M. —The horse was down, fighting in the most vio¬ 
lent way, and beating himself sadly about. It svas not, however, 
the action of cholic, but consisted of determined and constantly 
repeated efforts to get up, which he could not accomplish, be¬ 
cause power over the near fore-leg was almost gone. The case 
being of this mysterious and dangerous character, a veterinary 
friend of Mr. YouatPs was requested to see the patient; he 
likewise did not attribute the violent plunging to abdominal irri¬ 
tation, but to irritation of a more general nature, and occasioned, 
he thought, by over-bleeding; and he recommended powdered 
opium, and spirit of nitrous ether, which were accordingly adminis¬ 
tered. On my return home my worthy instructor fully acquitted 
me of all bad practice in the second bleeding, and said that, in the 
course of a short time, the disease would more fully develope its 
real character; and that he already suspected what it would 
prove to be, namely, inflammation of the meninges of the spinal 
chord, about the lower cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae. 
The fomentation with hot water was continued more diligently, 
and succeeded by an embrocation, consisting of terebinthinated 
tincture of cantharides and sp. of ammonia and camphor; and a 
large rowel was inserted in the chest. Previous to this we got 
the horse on his legs with a great deal of trouble, and there he 
stood seemingly pawing gently with his left fore leg, but, in 
reality, shifting his posture, and seeing whether he could throw 
a little of his weight upon it. 
2 p.M. —A stable man came in great haste to tell me that the 
horse had rubbed out the pin, and was bleeding fast. He did 
