188 
W. B. ROBINSON. 
Slight, or even severe, cases may be confounded with other 
diseases or accidents. For instance, a light case may be mis¬ 
taken for colic, or a horse may come in lame from an injury to 
the elbow or stifle showing some symptom of azoturia. In se¬ 
vere cases there are a few conditions which may often mislead 
us. A horse that is not in the habit of lying down while in the 
stable may suddenly fall in the road or on the street, making a 
number of unsuccessful efforts to rise. Usually, after lying an 
hour or two and resting, he will be able to rise and walk home, 
or even go to work. 
Another condition that may be confused with azoturia is a 
fracture of the pelvis or of the lumbar vertebrae. He will go 
down suddenly, unable to rise, exhibits great pain, resembling a 
severe case of this disease. 
There is still another condition, i. e., thrombosis of the poste¬ 
rior aorta and its branches. A horse may go down very much 
as if with azoturia, unable to rise for a while, but an examination 
per rectum will usually reveal the trouble. 
In my experience I have seen but one case of azoturia in a 
mule, if that was azoturia. While discussing the differential 
diagnosis, I will report this peculiar case. On April io I was 
hurriedly called to Mr. George Anderson’s farm, about three 
miles distance from my home town, Mr. Anderson saying that 
he had a very sick mule and asked me to come immediately. 
When I appeared on the scene I found a nice, fat, 16-hand, 
5-year-old mare mule standing in a shed and with posterior limbs 
in a condition absolutely rigid. Mr. Anderson informed me that 
his hired man had hooked his team of mules, of which the mule 
in question was one, to' a slide, had gone to a field about a quar¬ 
ter of a mile distant to haul feed. The men reported that when 
starting the mule apparently was feeling fine, but she soon be¬ 
came sluggish, knuckling in the posterior fetlock, then breaking 
out in a sweat. They had by this time reached the first shock of 
corn, after loading which they attempted to start the team, but 
this mule refused to move. They removed the gears from her 
and then with considerable difficulty and taking a few steps at a 
