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23 
ON THE HORSE’S EYE. 
margins of the cornea, across which numbers of them shoot in 
irregular lines, and occasionally pus forms in the anterior 
chamber, and in rare instances the inflammation may terminate 
in suppuration of the entire coats and consequent disruption of 
their contents, but the common termination is cataract.” Pro¬ 
fessor Coleman, from very extensive observations made at a 
time when this disease was exceedingly prevalent, arrived at 
the conclusion that the affection resulted from the same con¬ 
ditions as those which engendered glanders and farcy, namely, 
contaminated atmosphere, resulting from ill-paved, ill-drained, 
unventilated stables. And the observations I have made lead 
me to the same conclusion, and all cases that I have examined 
have been amongst animals housed in underground stables, 
that were damp, illy-ventilated and dark. Arriving at but one 
conclusion and result of this disease, we may consider briefly 
its ultimation. 
By the general term “cataract” is understood an opacity 
of the crystalline lens which may be capsular or lenticular, and 
it may involve with the lens and its tunics, which would then 
be termed “ capsulo-lenticular. ” It is considered by all writers 
and admitted that the etiology of cataract is still shrouded in 
much obscurity and doubt. However, it would appear most 
probable that the principle of the loss of transparency of the 
lens is to be sought in an impairment of its nutrition, due to 
some morbid alteration in the vitreous humor and in inflam¬ 
matory changes within the lens itself, primarily augmented by 
a morbid condition of the blood. Cataract may arise from a 
variety of causes. It is not unfrequently the sequel of disease, 
traumatic influences, etc. A fully formed matured cataract 
may be at once recognized even with the naked eye. The 
pupil is no longer clear, but it is occupied by a whitish opales¬ 
cent body which lies close behind it, and it may be seen on 
any part of the anterior surface of the lens. Capsular cataract 
is found most frequently in those opacities of the lens which 
are complicated with iritis, and Murray strongly insists, “that 
here great proliferations of the intracapsular cells occur, and 
may subsequently undergo fatty degeneration and finally dis¬ 
appear and be replaced by calcareous deposits, the chalky de- 
