506 CYSTITIS, FOLLOWED BY RUPTURE OF THE BLADDER. 
when she was turned into a pasture near the farmstead, and, 
whilst there, she suddenly left off feeding, trembled violently, 
and lay down, rolling over several times; she then rose up on 
her feet, and, after much straining, made an ineffectual 
attempt to urinate, a few drops of urine only being voided; 
the faeces, however, were passed freely, in fair quantities and 
soft; the surface of the body was covered with perspiration, 
and she was evidently in great pain. Under these circum¬ 
stances, the owner rode over to my house, and requested 
me to prescribe for the mare, but he declined my proffered 
visit, stating that he would administer the medicine and in¬ 
form me of the result the next day. About 4 a.m. the 
next morning, a messenger arrived in great haste, requesting 
me to return with him immediately, as the mare was dying. 
When I arrived at the farm, about four miles distant, I found 
my patient down, and totally unable to rise. The following 
were the symptoms present:—Pulse 120, and feeble; respi¬ 
ration much accelerated; surface of body and extremities 
cold; conjunctiva much injected; the Schneiderian mem¬ 
brane of a leaden hue ; great pain (although none was evinced 
on pressure being applied to the lumbar region or to the ab¬ 
domen) ; straining at intervals; the anus and vulva intensely 
swollen, the interior of the latter much inflamed; the eye pre¬ 
sented a peculiar expression, indicative of intense suffering 
and approaching death. I at once expressed to the owner 
my conviction that the mare would not survive many hours, 
and that my services would avail nothing; but with a view to 
satisfy myself, if possible, of the precise nature of the case, 
I made an examination per rectum, and discovered the blad¬ 
der to be perfectly empty and firmly contracted within the 
pelvis. I then withdrew my hand, and introduced the index 
finger between the vulva and onwards into the neck of the 
bladder, which caused a spasmodic ejection of only a few 
drops of urine. I then passed the catheter, with the like 
result. This completed my examination, from which, with 
the history of the case, I was inclined to the opinion that not 
only was cystitis present, but also that a lesion of the bladder 
had taken place. Of this latter, however, I did not presume 
to speak very positively, but only intimated to the owner 
that a rupture might probably exist, and the sequel proved 
that I was not mistaken. 
I now anxiously awaited the death of the mare,—which took 
place about 8 a.m.,—in order to make a post-mortein examina¬ 
tion. Upon dividing the abdominal parietes a large quantity 
of fluid (probably from ten to twelve gallons) escaped, which 
proved to be urine, with possibly a small quantity of effused 
