24 
Idiopathic Tetanus cured by Inhalations of Ether. 
An entire horse, the property of M. Mazin, ordinarily in hard 
labour upon the Lyons railway, was found to lag at work, and to 
experience some difficulty in turning. The carter driving him, 
judging he was unwell, took him back to his stable, and called in 
a veterinary surgeon, who bled him largely. 
His state at the time of admission to the (Aifort) College, 
on the 26th March, 1848, was—head erect and protruded; nostrils 
dilated; eyes fixed; pupils dilated; ears fixed upright; tension, 
stiffness, and hardness of the muscles. 
The animal moves all of a piece ; at the smallest excitement the 
cartilago nictitans is projected over almost the entire globe of the 
eye; and there are partial sweats upon the head, flanks, and limbs. 
The respiration is accelerated, the pulse small and slow; the pul¬ 
sations of the heart little perceptible. The mouth is hot, the saliva 
abundant and inspissated. He refuses all nutriment, solid and 
liquid. There is permanent contraction of the muscles of the jaws, 
ears, neck, fore limbs, and thorax—in a word, of the entire anterior 
half of the body ; the muscles of the posterior regions being less 
spasmodically affected. 
Diagnostic. —Idiopathic tetanus. 
PROGNOSTIC.-^-Exceeding grave. 
PRESCRIPTION. —Inhalations of ether, the dose being 11 ounces 
(4 cleci-litres). The animal was subjected to the influence of 
ethereal vapour for 45 minutes by means of an apparatus in use at 
the school. On the first impression he hastily backed ; there was 
a degree of agitation manifest, which a few minutes after was suc¬ 
ceeded by a calm. Although 45 minutes were more than sufficient 
to produce complete anasthesia, the animal stood proof against it, 
and remained standing, notwithstanding the inhalation still con¬ 
tinued: his body was covered with a profuse sweat; the apparatus 
is withdrawn; the animal is well clothed up, and turned loose into 
a well-closed box. 
27/A.—The condition of the patient is aggravated; the tetanic 
spasm is spreading over the posterior muscles. 
Treatment. —In the course of the day the animal was sub¬ 
jected five times to the influence of the vapours of ether, each ex¬ 
periment continuing 30 minutes, yet there is no producing stupe¬ 
faction. On the contrary, a general excitation is aroused, mani¬ 
fested by stamping and neighing. Upwards of pints (2 litres ) 
of ether* were used in the course of the day. In the evening no 
amelioration was observable. He refused every kind of solid 
food. 
* We have since discovered that the ether was not rectified. 
