ON THE MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF DIGITALIS. 345 
A short time afterwards, the pulse became very irregular, small 
and intermittent; the animal seemed in greater pain; the respira¬ 
tion was accelerated, and convulsive movements of the lips were 
observed ; the spermatic cord was very painful; the membrane 
of the nose livid. From time to time the animal became a little 
lively, but he was soon again insensible to the impression of 
surrounding* objects. At the end of an hour the pulse was very 
weak, and could hardly be felt; the excrements were mixed with 
glairy mucus, and were evacuated every moment. His step was 
tottering; the vessels of the face much gorged ; the belly swelled; 
the nostrils much dilated; general shiverings, and almost con¬ 
tinual; and, some hours afterwards, the animal died suddenly, 
without any great convulsions. 
. On opening him, which was done immediately, the ventricles of 
the brain w ere found to be filled with serosity, as was the whole 
spinal canal ; the vessels of the choroid plexus, and of the brain, 
w ere gorged with venous blood ; the ganglions of the throat w ere 
reddened, as was the tissue of the lungs. There was dropsy of 
the pericardium; the substance of the heart was very soft, and 
tore easily : there were numerous ecchymoses on the inferior part 
of the ventricles. The stomach w as distended w ith air, and its 
internal membrane presented many red spots. The floating part 
of the small intestines was corrugated and curled up. The con¬ 
tents of the colon were very fluid, and the mucous membrane of 
the coeco-gastrique part of the same intestine was of a red and 
livid hue. 
Another Experiment on an old Draught Horse. 
Previous to the experiment, the pulse in this animal was 52, 
and the inspirations 8. Seven ounces of digitalis were given to 
him in the morning, in the form of a ball. During the first two 
hours nothing particular was observed ; but after that he exhi¬ 
bited symptoms of colic, and convulsive motions of the fore limbs ; 
the pulse was the same, yet the vessels w ere full: the respiration 
was not accelerated, but slightly convulsive. At the end of 
another hour the pulse was 95, and the mucous membranes 
appeared tinted with red. Considerable rumbling could be heard 
in the abdomen. Still later the temperature of the skin was 
augmented: there was swelling at the flanks; the beating of 
the heart was strong and frequent, but with intermissions ; but 
the pulse at the extremities was weak; the mucous membranes 
were discoloured, and the feces soft and liquid, covered w ith a 
great quantity of mucus. A diminution in the heat of the skin 
was afterwards observed, and of the irregularity of the pulse, 
which increased to 122 pulsations in a minute. 
