INVETERATE CASE OF STRINGHALT. 
719 
were intense and incessant, keeping him in a perpetual dance; 
he suddenly and most violently snatched up one foot just 
before the other foot reached the ground, his hind feet dug 
and tore up all the pavement of the stall within their reach, 
and he continued in this state for about twenty-four hours, 
the perspiration pouring off him all the time. During this 
time I had bled him almost to syncope, gave him repeatedly 
powerful doses of anodyne medicine, and applied hot foment¬ 
ations to his legs and loins, but all was of no avail. This 
desperate, unnatural action, appeared to be perfectly irre¬ 
pressible. 1 much regret I did not use chloroform, but my 
previous experience of that medicament has not given me 
much faith in its utility. On representing the case to the 
owner, he at once consented to have the horse destroyed, 
which was done. 
Thinking this a likely subject from which I could glean 
some useful information; one likely to throw some light upon 
this vexed and disputed physiological question as to what is 
the nature, and where is the'seat of stringhalt, I felt an 
irresistible desire to make a careful and minute post-mortem 
examination. I therefore resolved to set aside one half day 
especially for the purpose, and if possible clear up this 
obscure perplexing matter. But such are the inexorable un¬ 
certainties and contingencies of a professional life that I 
found it to be utterly out of my power to bestow more than 
half an hour to this extremely interesting investigation. Con¬ 
sequently I was not able to satisfy myself as to the nature or 
the seat of the disease; but the unmistakeable proofs ! met 
with did satisfy me that some of the theories that have been 
advanced about this disease are fallacies, which ought and 
must be removed. It cannot be expected that during the 
limited time I had to devote to the investigation, that I 
exposed the spinal marrow from the cauda equina to the 
dorsal region, as was my intention; for to saw the sacrum 
and each bone of the lumbar vertebra on either side, and 
remove the pieces; to carefully and minutely trace each nerve 
from its remotest extremity through its plexuses, its gang¬ 
lions, its foramina, and its facets, into the spinal chord; to 
inspect the three columns of the spinal marrow, and the 
sheaths or coverings, would of necessity Occupy many hours 
to do satisfactorily. To lay open the vertebral canal, and to 
separate the intensely strong ligamentous connection, is much 
more easily said than done. What I did was briefly to exa¬ 
mine, Istly, whether there was any hardness or corrugation, 
the effect of cramp, in any part of any of the muscles, but I 
could find none. Sndly. If any ecchymosis existed in th^ 
