240 
A CASE OF RAMOLLISSEMENT. 
was in the same state, yet still he was harnessed to the cart; he 
had not, however, gone far ere he suddenly fell, struggled a little, 
and died. 
On opening the cranium with considerable care, I found the sub¬ 
stance of the cerebellum much softened; it was quite pultaceous, 
and there was an effusion of mingled pus and blood in the ven¬ 
tricle. The membranes of the brain were slightly injected ; the 
mucous membrane of the stomach and of the small intestines was 
also somewhat inflamed; every other organ was perfectly healthy. 
M. Ollivier makes the following remarks on the case :—There 
is much analogy between the cerebral lesions in this animal and 
those frequently observed in the human being. I am aware that 
ramollisseinentof the brain in the human being runs its course more 
slowly than it seemed to do in the case which I have described ; 
but who knows whether this animal that died so suddenly, had 
not presented many symptoms of ramollissement of the cere¬ 
bellum, which had escaped the attention of the owner and his 
men ? The change, so far as I could obtain a history of the 
case, was sudden—the intellect of the animal was enfeebled, and 
also his sensibility. 1 know that, in the human being, softening 
of the brain is announced by an acute and obstinate headach, 
and by some derangement of the sensitive functions. This con¬ 
tinues during a longer or shorter period of time, and then the 
individual suddenly or gradually loses the use of some of his 
limbs, or of one side of the body, and ultimately perishes many 
months after the commencement of the disease. To this I reply, 
that not having obtained an account of any other symptoms than 
those which I have described, I must be content with them; and, 
having such imperfect data, I pretend not to have discovered any 
new disease. The rapid progress of the disease might have in¬ 
duced me to consider it as a case of sanguineous apoplexy; but 
the absence of the lesions uniformly connected with that malady, 
and the alteration in the very substance of the brain, compel me 
to regard it as a case, and I believe the first on record, of ramol¬ 
lissement of the cerebellum in the horse.” 
M. Serres relates a case of it in a monkey. See Magendie s 
Journal, vol. ii, p 265. 
Ramollissement of the cerebrum, however, is not unfrequent in 
our patients. Professor Hertwig, of Berlin, states that, in at least 
a hundred cases he has found the brain very soft, dirty, yellow, 
and with fluid in the ventricles after sleepy staggers, and there 
are few of us who have not seen the inflammatory softening after 
phrenitis. In the sheep with turnsick, softening of a great 
portion of the brain is not unfrequent; but cases of ramollissement 
of the cerebellum are very rare. Can any of our correspondents 
throw a little light on this subject ? Y. 
