44 L< WEST OF SCOTLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
I have drawn from a study of the arrangement of the fibres of the organ, I 
now produce the stomach of a horse which, as you will observe for your¬ 
selves, is divided into two'distinct compartments in the line of division to 
which I have just referred. The case being unique in many respects to me, 
I have consulted all the literature which is to be found in veterinary works 
oil diseases of the stomach, and upon which I could place my hands, but 
nothing akin to this stomach has been referred to. In human medicine, as 
an abnornality, “ hour-glass contraction ” of the stomach has been recorded, 
and apparently I would be justified in classing this as “ hour-glass con¬ 
traction 55 of the stomach of the horse; but, be this as it may, I prefer 
speaking of it as stricture of the stomach in the median line. 
The following is the history of the case: 
At the date- of the animal’s death he was nine or ten years of age, had 
been in the possession of his owners for upwards of three years, and was 
employed drawing wood. Tor the first eighteen months or so he did well, 
and to all appearances was a sound, healthy animal. About eighteen months 
prior to his being slaughtered, Mr. Mitchell, M.R.C.V.S., Cranstonhill, was 
desired to pay the animal a visit. Upon that occasion he found the horse 
presenting symptoms of colic, with attempts to vomit, but which were in¬ 
effectual, inasmuch as the food did not make its appearance. Fancying 
that a pin or some body might be lodged about the base of the tongue or 
pharynx, Mr. M. explored the parts, but failed in discovering a cause for 
the unusual symptoms of vomiting. Medicinal agents were administered, 
and in due course the animal got well. About a month after this Mr. M. 
was again desired to attend the horse, and upon this occasion he found his 
patient vomiting food by the mouth and nostrils. The food had a bad 
smell, and in the act of vomiting the abdominal muscles were powerfully 
contracted, the neck arched, and the head drawn towards the chest. 
Under treatment, the animal again recovered ; but, at irregular periods of 
time, he had renewed attacks of abdominal pain, with vomiting of food. 
Gradually he fell off in condition, lost spirits and appetite ; the vomiting 
and emaciation becoming more pronounced, he was at Mr. Mitchell’s desire 
slaughtered. 
Morbid Anatomy. —The stomach larger than usual, and upon its exterior 
presenting an appearance as if a ligature had been applied so as to divide 
it into two compartments in the median line, the line of division corre¬ 
sponding to the natural raphae, to which I have referred at some length. 
A section of the wall of the cardiac half or compartment of the organ 
demonstrated enormous hypertrophy of the muscular fibres, but a similar 
section of the pyloric half demonstrated no increase of tissue. At a 
glance, the conformation of the oesophagus as it ends in the stomach is 
observed to be abnormal. Instead of being narrower, it is wider than at 
any other portion of its course, and is funnel-shaped and not unlike the 
appearance presented by the oesophagus of the pig and dog—animals 
which are known to vomit with facility and without pain or nausea. Con¬ 
tinuing our investigation, we find that the line of constriction, so pro¬ 
nounced upon the exterior of the organ, corresponds to a hypertrophy of 
muscular tissue in an annular direction, and that hypertrophy is so great 
and complete as to divide the interior of the stomach into two distinct 
compartments, communicating with each other through a circular orifice 
only six inches in circumference. The cardiac half is the larger of the 
two compartments, and its cuticular investment is deficient in irregular 
patches all over its surface, but ulcerative disease has not' commenced. 
Professor M’Call promised to report further when he had completed his 
examination of the stomach. 
Professor Walley next introduced an instrument, which may be called a 
