REVIEW. 
443 
inspiration; at this moment the right crus of the diaphragm 
is forcibly extended, but the oesophagus is only moderately 
compressed between its fleshy lips,—the intestines forcibly 
escape through the wound in the abdomen,—eight minutes 
after this injection of tartar emetic, appearance of some 
nausea, or violent and simultaneous contraction of lower 
abdominal muscles and diaphragm. The whole intestine is 
removed in order to see the stomach well; the viscus follows, 
like a pendulum, the alternate movements of contraction and 
relaxation of the diaphragm; the stomach, which is tolerably 
distended, is the seat of slow, continuous contractions, which 
always commence at the same point, the pylorus. The con¬ 
traction and relaxation of the lower abdominal muscles and 
diaphragm take place gradually and slowly. This partition 
yields little by little, but uninterruptedly, to the abdominal 
muscles; these act similarly with regard to the diaphragm, 
so that if we form a material idea of these respiratory powers, 
we can compare them to two machines always equidistant, 
and directed in the same course, each describing the half of 
a double cone, whose limited base of reciprocal excursion 
would be in the middle. When one of them is at the summit, 
the other is at the base, and vice versa; consequently, the 
action of the diaphragm increases in proportion as that of 
the abdominal muscles diminishes. These forces are there¬ 
fore essentially respiratory. The one—the diaphragm—is 
active during inspiration ; the other—the force generated by 
the abdominal muscles—is expiratory. Renewed, sudden, 
violent, and simultaneous contractions of the diaphragm and 
abdominal muscles occur; the latter even appear to augment 
their action in proportion as the diaphragm relaxes; it is the 
nausea, or the manifestation of the effort. No vomiting has 
occurred; finally, the animal expires.” 
From this account it appears that, on seeing violent efforts 
of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm of a horse, into 
whose veins tartar emetic had been injected, and from whose 
abdomen all the intestines had been removed through a large 
opening, MM. Leblanc and Mignon inferred that the emetic 
was producing its specific action by exciting efforts to evacuate 
the stomach through the oesophagus. No vomiting occurred, 
and therefore the experiment, jorimd facie , establishes,—firstly, 
that the horse makes efforts to vomit when potassio-tartrate 
of antimony is injected into the veins; secondly, that as those 
efforts are not followed by vomiting, there must be some 
mechanical impediment to the escape of matters through the 
cardia. Both these conclusions are erroneous; and they are 
so for the following reasons :—The description given of the 
