DROPPING AFTER CALVING. 581 
distended with dark-coloured blood, as the result of mere 
passive congestion. 
A most remarkable lesion is not unfrequently met with in 
the windpipe and bronchial tubes, even to their smallest 
ramifications, produced by the presence of ingesta which had 
found its way from the rumen—the first stomach—into the 
air-passages. In the spasmodic eructations which accompany 
the comatose stage of the disease, portions of the contents of 
the rumen—as has been stated in the description of the 
symptoms—are forced into the oesophagus, and, ascending 
into the fauces, pass with the tidal air directly into the wind¬ 
pipe. Nothing can more distinctly show the amount of 
coma which is present than this, for the passage of the 
ingesta from the fauces through the glottal opening and 
larynx is unaccompanied with cough or any immediate dis¬ 
tress on the part of the animal. In such instances death 
results from asphyxia, and it may be added that not only 
ingesta, but even some of the medicine which had incautiously 
been given—without the appliance of the stomach-pump to 
secure its conveyance into the rumen—will not unfrequently 
be found within the bronchial tubes. 
As will be surmised from the foregoing observations, the 
special lesions of parturient apoplexy will be found in the 
brain and spinal cord. The vessels of both the cerebrum 
and cerebellum are turgid with blood, and not unfrequently 
blood extravasations are met with between the membranes of 
the brain, within its ventricles or on its surface. A similar 
state of the vessels will be found in the spinal cord, especially 
in its cervical portion. Here both the turgescence of the 
vessels and the extravasation of blood are often far greater 
than in the brain itself. The sheath of the cord participates 
in the morbid action, and in some instances its vessels, even 
from the a ttys to the lumbar vertebrae, will be found engorged 
with blood. In one remarkable case examined several years 
since we found the spinal sheath throughout its full length in 
such a hyperaemic condition that it appeared as if it had been 
dipped in a deep red dye. In this case also softening of the 
cord itself existed in the lumbar region. The animal was 
attacked twenty-two hours after parturition, and survived 
only about thirty-six hours. She was prostrate for a longer 
time before coma became complete than is generally observed 
in the disease. 
In connection with the lesions of the brain and spinal cord 
mention may be made of a remarkable case which happened 
to a cow of our own. The animal survived the attack for the 
long space of 1£0 hours ; and although the coma yielded 
