DILATATION OF PORTION OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 633 
reduced, his belly much tucked up, and was frequently lying 
down and rising up. The respiration and circulation a little 
quicker than in health. Ptyalism abundant and continual; 
saliva frothy; frequent borborygmus; dung-balls coated 
(coiffes) and hard. After making violent efforts to vomit, he 
at length succeeded in ejecting through the mouth and nasal 
cavities semi-liquid alimentary matters. The act of vomition 
is uniformly accompanied with a very violent coughing. Ex¬ 
ploration of the mouth, throat, and cervical portion of the 
oesophagus, failed to discover any anormality. When cold 
water is offered the patient, he, for a minute or two, continues 
swallowing it; then is seized with violent efforts of vomition, 
vomiting through the mouth three pints or more of water, 
and through the nose half a pint more of alimentary matter, 
soaked through with water and saliva, the hard cough accom¬ 
panying the act; with which the abdominal muscles appear 
to have nothing to do, whilst the inferior cervical muscles 
are energetically contracting. 
The horse was recommended to be destroyed. 
Autopsy .—Mouth, pharynx, and cervical portion of the 
oesophagus normal; while in its thoracic portion are discover¬ 
able the entire morbid changes. 
For an extent of seven inches, immediately anterior to its 
passage through the diaphragm, the oesophagus presents, 
along its inferior part, an immense dilatation (sort of crav :) 
between the right and left lobes of the lungs. This sac has 
an opening superiorly measuring, lengthwise, seven inches, 
and in breadth, from 2-5ths to 4-5ths of an inch. It is con¬ 
tinuous with the oesophagus, and is convex inferiorly, bulging 
in its middle parts, being altogether of the form of the lower 
half of the cod-bag of a ram. There is nothing to make us 
believe it to be of recent formation. It will contain about 
pints of fluid. At present there is about a pint of water 
within it, holding in suspension some particles of forage and 
a few grains of barley, which have undergone no change be¬ 
yond maceration. The muscular coat of the oesophagus, above 
the sac, is double its natural thickness, growing thin as it ap¬ 
proaches the sac, upon which its fibres spread out and diva¬ 
ricate. The sac is lined by the mucous coat, which grows 
thinner as it issues from the tubular parts, and in being* 
spread over it loses its rugae. The portion of oesophagus 
between the sac and stomach, about 1 \ inch in length, is 
anormally dilated, forming a tube through which matters 
within the stomach may easily regurgitate into the sac. 
The stomach presents no lesion. It is contracted, and con¬ 
tains only some portions of forage. The case, therefore, was 
