RUPTURE OF THE POSTERIOR VENA CAVA. 62 7 
in to make a post-mortem examination of this morning. I 
will give you the history of the case as short and as correct 
as I can. 
“ The subject was a hack horse, about fourteen years old; 
was never known to have had an attack of illness; had been 
regularly at work in harness up to his death, and for the last 
five weeks has been doing twenty miles daily. 
“ On Saturday last the man that was driving him fancied he 
was not quite up to the mark; took him to a farrier, who 
gave him some medicine, but could not make out what was 
the matter with him. On Sunday the horse went out as 
usual, and on Monday, when he was brought home at night, 
the man was noticed to be driving him rather fast through the 
town. After he had been in about twenty minutes he was 
taken to a stream to have his legs washed, but had not been 
there more than two or three minutes before he dropped 
down and died instantly. 
“ I made a post-mortem examination this morning, and 
found a rupture of the anterior vena cava, close to where it 
enters the right auricle. The heart was quite healthy, and 
also all the other organs. The stomach was quite full of 
food. 
“From this imperfect description can you give me your 
opinion as to the cause of the rupture? Do you think over¬ 
exertion, and the horse not being well, had anything to do 
with it ? 
“ I am, sir, 
“Yours truly, 
“ Charles N. Page. 
“ To G. Yarn ell, Esq. 55 
My reply to the above letter was very brief, and the 
substance of what I stated is embodied in the following 
remarks:—We can hardly suppose that the rupture in the 
vein would have taken place had it not been either congeni¬ 
tally malformed or its coats in an abnormal condition. 
Such, however, may have been the case here, but was over¬ 
looked, as it easily might have been, in making the post¬ 
mortem examination. 
We can hardly hope that such cases as the above will ever 
be diagnosed with any degree of certainty ; nevertheless, by 
recording all that may come under our notice, with the history 
of what is known of the animals in which they occur, together 
with the symptoms observed immediately preceding death, 
and the post-mortem examination of the parts affected, would 
certainly afford useful data in forming future diagnoses; and 
