323 
REMARKS ON PARACENTESIS THORACIS. 
By the Same. 
I was much pleased with the remarks made by Assistant- 
Professor Varnell on the case of hydrothorax recently pub¬ 
lished by Mr. Stevenson in the Veterinarian. We all of us, 
alas ! see too many cases which terminate in effusion into the 
chest, and any remarks that will tend towards the collection 
of practical data ought to be recorded. I, like Mr. Varnell, 
believe that effusion takes place more or less in numerous 
cases that ultimately recover. I have seen cases where other 
veterinary surgeons well as myself have looked upon it as cer¬ 
tain that fluid existed in, the chest, and still the animals have 
gradually recovered,and returned to work in apparently perfect 
health. I have also often operated upon cases, and drawn 
off large quantities of fluid, but in every instance unsuccess¬ 
fully. I have likewise given alum, as well as sulphate of iron, 
hydriodate of potass, &c., but without any satisfactory result. 
I am, nevertheless, of opinion that we feel far too great 
timidity about operating. We hesitate too much. We esti¬ 
mate it as an operation entailing far greater risk and danger 
than exist in reality. I have felt this so strongly that I 
recently made an experiment, the particulars of which I will 
now give you. As far as it goes, it is very encouraging in cases 
where it is decided to perform the operation. I am quite 
opposed to vivisectional cruelties, but in this instance the 
amount of suffering that was entailed was so little, that I be¬ 
lieve the most zealous member of the Society for the Preven¬ 
tion of Cruelty would not have made any complaint about it. 
The subject was an aged horse. In the autumn of last 
year he was sent to the knacker’s yard to be killed; but the 
man not requiring him at the time, he was turned into some 
fields. He appeared to be a healthy animal. On 26th of Octo¬ 
ber, I860, I made three incisions through the skin with my 
lancet, and passed the ordinary trochar canula into the chest 
on the near side. Quantities of air were allowed free ingress to 
the thorax, after which the animal was let loose, when he 
walked away and commenced grazing, as if nothing had 
occurred. On 2d of November I repeated the operation, 
selecting a spot about two inches from the other incisions. 
On the 9th three more incisions were made, and repeated on 
the 16th, and again on the 23d. 
On the 26th he was destroyed. It must be remembered the 
operation only occupied about two minutes each time. I had 
