258 
PARTIAL BLOCKING UP OF THE TRACHEA. 
the obstruction was not in or about the larynx, but lower 
down the trachea. Indeed, the noise could be distinctly 
heard throughout the entire length of the trachea, and about 
half way down the neck the tube was more prominent than 
is natural. The application of pressure to this part gave 
pain, and greatly increased the difficulty of respiration. Not 
being able to satisfy myself as to the precise nature of the 
obstruction, I felt disposed to cut down upon it, thinking that 
the respiration might be relieved thereby, or that, at any rate, 
I might be able to form a better opinion of the nature of the 
obstruction. I did not, however, do this; and on the 1st of 
the present month, April, I was hastily summoned to see my 
patient, the messenger stating that unless something could 
be done immediately to relieve the breathing, the horse would 
soon be dead. 
On my arrival, I found this statement to be true. The 
poor animal was labouring for breath in a most distressing 
manner. He was bedewed with perspiration, and staggering 
to and fro in his box. The tongue was livid; the mem¬ 
branes congested, and his whole appearance indicative of 
death from asphyxia. With great difficulty, and not unac¬ 
companied with danger, I cut down on the trachea, hoping 
to afford relief by making an opening into it very low down 
the neck, but much to my surprise and disappointment 
I found it blocked up by a firm deposit, which would not 
give way to the pressure of my finger. The poor animal 
soon fell to rise no more. 
I am sorry that circumstances prevented my sending the 
specimen at an earlier date, but the delay arose from my 
desire to afford my excellent friend, Mr. Ceely, surgeon of 
this place, an opportunity of examining it, particularly as he 
saw the horse a few days before his death. The adventitious 
deposit which you will observe to have encroached upon the 
calibre of the trachea would appear to have been a consider¬ 
able time in forming, as its texture is very solid and firm. 
[The specimen sent by Mr. Lepper consisted of a portion 
of the trachea, eighteen inches long, the calibre of which was 
diminished to about one fourth of its usual dimensions by 
an organized fibrinous deposit. This adventitious material 
occupied the space between the transversails muscle and the 
cartilaginous rings, at the posterior part of the tube. At its 
thickest part it was fully an inch and a quarter in substance, 
and from this it gradually became thinner towards the upper 
portion, which reached as high up as the sixth ring of the 
trachea. How far the deposit extended in the direction of 
