86 
OPENING OF THE MELBOURNE VETERINARY COLLEGE. 
TRAUMATIC PERICARDITIS. 
By Me. Maeion. 
A cow presented the following spmptoms: A hard, indolent, 
painless oedema, involving the intermaxillary space and extending 
upwards along the parotid, and the pulse at the glosso facial not 
perceptible on that account; respiration difficult and with double 
expiration, as in pulmonary emphysema; heart-beats slow and 
irregularly intermittent and difficult to detect; auscultation over 
the heart giving a slight metallic sound ; half of the left lung dull 
on percussion ; right lung normal; venous pulse once or twice well 
marked. 
From these signs a diagnosis was made of traumatic pericar 
ditis, and a fatal prognosis pronounced. For a few days very 
little variation could be discovered. Then the oedema of the head 
extended downward to the front of the chest; there was increased 
dullness on the left side; the metallic sound increased; the 
breath became offensive; there was slight thoracic effusion, par¬ 
ticipated in by the pericardium, which on being punctured dis¬ 
charged a purulent, yellowish-white and offensive fluid. 
She continued to grow worse and died at the end of twenty 
days. At the post-mortem a nail about two inches in length was 
found imbedded in the sternum, between the sixth and seventh 
ribs. It had evidently been introduced into the recmen and 
passed through the pericardium into its cavity, without injuring 
the heart, and there excited the fatal pericarditis.— Rec. de Med. 
Vet. 
OPENING OF THE MELBOURNE VETERINARY COLLEGE. 
Yesterday afternoon a number of gentlemen met at the veter¬ 
inary college of Mr. Kendall, M.R.C.V.S., in Brunswick street, 
Fitzroy (not far from Victoria street), to take part in the opening 
ceremony of that institution,. A brief inspection of the premises 
before the opening ceremony was sufficient to make one aware of 
the completeness of the arrangements for the treatment of sick or 
hurt horses and dogs, etc. Nearly all the*stalls were occupied by 
