EXTRACTS FROM EXCHANGES. 
859 
EXTRACTS FROM EXCHANGES. 
GERMAN REVIEW. 
By W. V. Bieser, D. V. S., New York City. 
Fistula of the Pharynx.— Tlie animal was a five-year-old 
brown mare. The patient was placed under the author’s care to 
be cured of continual coughing and failure to triturate her fod¬ 
der properly. The mouth felt hot and slimy, pulse was acceler¬ 
ated, nasal discharge, and a hard painful swelling in the sub¬ 
maxillary spacecough was dry, strong and frequent; in short, 
the symptoms of acute adenitis. In the next four days the 
swelling began to surround the pharynx and as it became larger 
the abscess was lanced and about a tablespoonful of pus emptied 
itself, leading the author to infer that the worst was over and 
that recovery was near at hand. The mare did improve for a 
few days, but then the pharynx in its anterior aspect began to 
enlarge as if a new abscess was in process of formation there. 
The swelling was hard and tender, and most distinct midway 
between the ear and angle of the jaw. In a few days the swell¬ 
ing increased an^ spread downward from the pharynx. In 
spite of daily examinations no traces of softening or fluctua¬ 
tion showed themselves ; the breathing became more and more 
harsh, threatening tracheotomy. Upon the eleventh day ex¬ 
amination showed that the skin had given way at the most de¬ 
pendent portion of the swelling, exuding a moist discharge. 
Enlarging the opening a small quantity of sour smelling well- 
chewed fodder could be removed. This fodder was squeezed so 
compactly in the abscess cavity that a forceps and dull sound 
were necessary for its removal. Although the mass removed 
was small, a large cavity remained behind. The mare was very 
much emaciated before this but from now on improved, the 
harsh breathing subsided, the cough diminished day by day. 
The extent of the swelling did not shrink, although its cavity 
as well as the swelling of the neighboring parts did ; the ab- 
cess cavity began to granulate, leaving only the faintest trace 
of an opening. Through the opened wound no more food passed, 
but the discharge continued, showing the color of the food mas¬ 
ticated, being green after green fodder had been chewed. After 
nine weeks at the hospital the animal was discharged. The 
presence of a cavity in front of the pharynx was especially no¬ 
ticeable after drinking from a trough, when after each mouthful 
