28 
PUNCTURED LUNGS OF A HORSE. 
I saw the horse soon after the accident, and found him 
trembling, the breathing very much disturbed, and air passing 
from the lung, through the wound in the side, to a great 
extent; the pulse also was much disturbed. I abstracted 
Oviij of blood, applied a wet pad over the wound, which I 
directed to be kept constantly wet with cold water, and 
gave Aloes et Pot. Nit., aa ^ij, cum Antim. Tart., 5jj, in a 
ball, to be repeated every eight hours, as I feared acute 
inflammation and sloughing of the lung. 
12th.—The breathing is easier, and the animal eats a 
little and drinks freely. Keep the pad constantly wet 
as before, and continue to give the medicine, reducing the 
Aloes to 5j in each ball. 
13th.—Patient worse ; the breathing is humid, and 
pain expressed, as he grunts when he moves; the Schnei¬ 
derian membrane is slightly congested, the pulse weak and 
uncertain. Give Camphor., 5j> et Pot. Nit., 31 ), in ball. In 
the evening he w’as easier, when the medicine w 7 as repeated. 
14th.—Both the breathing and pulse are improved. A 
healthy discharge takes place from the wound, and no air 
escapes from it now 7 . The faeces are rather hard. Give 
Aloes, 5iij ? cum Pot. Nit., 5 ij, in ball. 
16 th.—The animal is gradually improving. The pulse 
gets stronger daily, and he feels better. 
From this period he continued to improve. The wound, with 
a little ordinary care, healed, and is now 7 , July 12th, quite 
closed, and the skin nearly drawn over it. The horse looks 
well, is in good spirits, and apparently quite restored to health* 
I feel rather curious to ascertain how nature sets about 
healing such an injury as the above. I do not know 7 whether 
the fractured rib entered the lung or not, but I think not. 
If this horse dies w 7 hile with us, 1 shall not forget to examine 
the injured side. 
Perhaps nature throws out a wall of lymph around the 
injured portion of the lung, and thus, to a certain extent, 
cuts it off from the healthy part of that organ. 
The air ceased to escape after the second day from the date 
of the injury, w hich would tend to confirm this view 7 . How 7 - 
ever, the above are the facts of the case, and they are much 
at the service of the profession. 
