SUPPOSED RUPTURE OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 
13 
me, and stated that the horse was very unwell, and he 
feared a fatal termination; and, for my greater convenience, 
the animal having previously been a considerable distance 
from Sheffield, he had had him brought to another farm close 
to the town. I went at once to see him ; found the animal 
rather low in condition, but he was still feeding well; his 
coat also stared, but there was no constitutional disturbance 
present. The enlargement before alluded to, however, was 
now visible enough, and put on the appearance given in 
the subjoined sketch. 
There was no pain expressed on pressure being applied to 
it. Its contents were also moveable, but could not be made to 
disappear. During the act of drinking, the swelling materially 
increased in size, and extended from the sternum to the angle 
of the jaw, giving to the parotid gland the appearance of 
a large tumour. This, however, existed only during the 
time the head was placed towards the ground, and while the 
animal was drinking. It produced an occasional sense of 
suffocation, when the animal discontinued drinking for a few 
seconds, in which time relief seemed to be obtained, and the 
swelling decreased in size. The swallowing, however, being 
renewed, brought about a repetition of these symptoms. 
My first impression was, that the swelling arose from a 
serous abscess; but I soon found that the sac was deep 
seated, and that my theory was not tenable. I then asked 
myself if the oesophagus could be ruptured ; and thought, 
if this were so, food, as well as water, would pass through 
the opening, and great pain and inconvenience would be 
occasioned when eating; but this was not the case. Was it 
