214 
ENLARGED SPLEEN OP A HORSE. 
thin, refused all food, and would not lie down. This con¬ 
tinued until about ten days before his death, when haemorrhage 
commenced from the near nostril; at first slightly and inter¬ 
mittent, but at last more profuse and continuous. The pulse 
ranged from 65 to 70, being very weak and irregular; the 
mucous membranes were very pallid, and about a fortnight 
before he was destroyed the near flank was observed to be 
fuller than the off. His food was four quarts oats, with a 
double handful of beans and the usual quantity of hay, daily; 
his height was 15| hands; his shape almost faultless, he 
being nearly thoroughbred. As he was a favorite and an old 
horse, being six or seven and twenty years old, he was not 
subjected to any treatment, but destroyed. Perhaps it is 
worthy of note that the parts affected were all on the near 
side. In the post-mortem examination I found all the internal 
organs healthy, the spleen excepted. 
I remain, dear Sir, 
Yours truly. 
To Professor Varnell. 
EEMAPKS ON THE ABOVE CASE BY PEOFESSOIl VABNELL. 
All vertebrated animals possess a spleen, but I am not 
aware that they have any other organ which varies so much 
in forni and size as this does. And not only is this the 
case in animals of one species as compared with those of 
another, but even in animals of the same species its outline 
is found to be very different. In some few exceptional 
instances I have met with it partially divided by fissures in 
one or more places; at other times it is divided into two or 
three parts, which are only connected together by blood-vessels 
and membranes. In some animals it is so very small that in a 
physiological point of view it is difficult to understand how 
it can be of any importance in the animal economy. 
The spleen of the dog is of considerable size, yet we have 
heard (not witnessed) of its being removed entire without 
causing the death of the animal, or apparently any incon¬ 
venience, not even a loss of flesh. The spleen also varies in 
size under different circumstances during perfect health; as, 
for example, it may be much larger a few hours after a full 
meal is taken than it was when the stomach and intestines 
were empty. But we have reason to suppose that its volume 
is augmented to a far greater extent under circumstances 
bordering upon disease. Temporary congestion of the lungs 
or liver, or from the blood being driven from the skin and 
other remote parts of the body by cold, or from their not being 
