132 CASE OF SOFTENING OF THE LIVER. 
be destroyed ; but if he continued in no great pain, let him live 
till the morrow, if he will. 
Monday , Feb. 2 ; 9, A.M. —Evidently worse ; pulse 106; 
respiration normal in character, but ten per minute; mem¬ 
branes markedly yellow; breath not now offensive; twitchings 
of the muscles of the right side and shoulder, so that when he 
raises his right foot from the ground the scapula and^ humerus 
are drawn upwards and backwards involuntarily, as though the 
trapezius, latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major muscles were 
acting simultaneously. The groom said he had just staled a 
great quantity of dark-coloured or black urine. 
1 was surprised to see how well the old horse walked to his 
last resting-place, a distance of two hundred yards. 
Sectio Cadaveris. —Immediately the abdomen was opened, 
two gallons of dark blood escaped, and exposed to view the 
liver : it was enlarged. The inferior border of its right lobe was 
ruptured for twelve inches in length, having the appearance of 
venous coagula, with shreds of the enveloping membrane lying 
across it. The finger could be easily drawn though the lacerated 
substance; only a small portion of the left lobe exhibiting a 
healthy structure. The spleen was slightly enlarged, and dark 
in colour. The stomach and intestines were perfectly’ healthy 
internally; their peritoneal covering was reddened throughout, 
no doubt from the presence of the fluid blood. The kidneys 
were darker than natural, but contained no fluid in their pelvis. 
The bladder contained about twelve ounces of nearly black fluid. 
On opening the chest, the pleura was found of a yellow cast, 
but the lungs in structure were as healthy as any I ever saw. 
The pericardial sac contained about two ounces of green coloured 
serum. The heart was somewhat flabby. 
In the swelling in the right leg I discovered a thorn, three- 
quarters of an inch in length, embedded in the areolar tissue, 
between that and the flexor muscle of the arm. 
Remarks. —I think we may fairly conclude, that rupture of 
the substance of the liver had taken place when I first saw the 
horse, and that the capsule had accommodated itself to the lace¬ 
rated parts. Remission of the symptoms, in consequence, took 
place, and continued up to the Saturday night or early on Sunday 
morning; when the capsule gave wav, and passive hemorrhage 
took place into the peritoneal cavity, which continued up to the 
time of his being destro}^ed. The fluid found in the pericardial 
sac is easily accounted for by the inordinate action of the heart 
for the four or five days previous, the state of the liver being 
the exciting cause. 
The lameness of the right leg w’as not sympathetic with the 
