A CLINICAL STUDY OF ODONTOMES. 
11 
draft gelding, brought to us for operation when about twenty- 
six months old, the owner relating that some six months pre¬ 
viously the colt had suffered from “distemper” (strangles) from 
which he had failed to fully recover, but rather growing worse, 
the owner concluded to seek assistance. The general health, 
condition and appetite of the animal seemed perfect, and no 
difficulty could be observed in his eating, There was great 
dyspnoea, and an enormous bulging of the left side of the face, 
extending entirely over the region occupied by the facial 
sinuses, from the eye to the region of the second pre-molar, 
from the median line of the head to the masseter muscle, the 
bulging reaching at its central part an elevation of fully three 
inches beyond the natural facial line. The swollen part was 
somewhat painful, and dull on percussion ; the sub-maxillary 
lympathics of the affected side were considerably tumefied. 
The nasal discharge present was only such as would result 
from the extreme dyspnoea. Accepting the owner’s history 
of prior strangles, and diagnosing suppuration of the sinuses as 
a result, a free opening was made into the lower part of the 
frontal sinus, when a large amount, probably two pints, of 
fetid greenish serous fluid, mixed with pus, escaped, and the 
sinus was dressed antiseptically for two or three days, when, 
although the dyspnoea had to some extent subsided, the im¬ 
provement was unsatisfactory. The pressure of pus and fluid 
had destroyed the inter-sinusal walls, converting all into one, 
and extending them beyond their usual boundaries. 
With a view to perfecting the drainage, the opening into 
the frontal sinus was widened and then extended downwards 
toward the nose some four inches, until the antero-inferior 
limit of the pus-containing cavity had been reached. This large 
opening, parallel t o the septum nasi, afforded a good oppor¬ 
tunity for examining every part of the frontal sinns, and es- 
peciallv with regard to the failure of the pus to gain exit 
through the nasal passage. It was found that at the point of 
communication between the nasal passage and the sinuses, 
the walls between the two had been pushed over by the 
contents of the sinuses until they were pressed firmly against 
the septum nasi, completely stopping any overflow into the 
nostrils. 
