256 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
LIPOMA CAUSING DEATH.* 
By J. F. Roub, D.V.S., Monroe, Wis. 
The patient was a dark brown gelding, sixteen hands high, 
nineteen years of age, weighing 1200 lbs., and used for a car¬ 
riage horse. Never known to refuse his food and never saw a 
sick day previous to the time I was called to see him. Upon 
examination, I found the pulse almost imperceptible, tempera¬ 
ture 103° F.; perspiration bedewed the cutaneous surface ; vis¬ 
ible mucous membranes somewhat injected ; peristalsis normal 
and the faeces were normal in appearance. The horse was suf¬ 
fering excruciating pain. The pain was continuous and pre¬ 
sented the characteristic symptoms of enteritis, and I informed 
the owner that his horse would probably die. It being only a 
short distance from my hospital, I had the animal taken there. 
This was at 8 A. M. I began treatment by giving opiates and 
anodynes in large doses, but all to no avail, d he horse con¬ 
tinued to roll and thresh about until he was nearly exhausted. 
At 1.30 P. M. I gave morphine sulph., gr. v., hypodermically. 
At this time I informed the owner that I was mistaken in my 
diagnosis, as it would be impossible for the horse to have enter¬ 
itis and peristalsis continue for five hours and a half. I then 
made a rectal examination, but discovered nothing that would 
lead to a true diagnosis. Being at a loss as to the cause, I 
waited for further developments. At 2 P. M. the horse grew 
quieter and seemed almost free from pain. At 3 P. M. he rolled 
a few times and then lay in a recumbent position partly coma¬ 
tose for about four hours. At 8 p._ m., pulse imperceptible, a 
cold sweat bedewed the body, extremities cold, haggard expres¬ 
sion of the countenance, tremor of pectoral muscles, and stag¬ 
gering gait, temperature 98° F., intestines paralyzed. At this 
point I was sure I had a case of enteritis, but did not inform the 
owner. There was not much change in the symptoms until 8 
A. M., when the patient grew much worse, and died at 9 A. M. 
The animal was taken out two and one-half miles and the 
autopsy revealed a lipomatous tumor, resembling a large apple, 
measuring four and a half inches in diameter 5 the pedicle was 
three-eghth s of an inch in diameter, being attached to the poste¬ 
rior aorita, three inches posterior to the lesser mesenteric artery, 
causing pressure on the aorta sufficient to diminish the calibre 
of the aorta three-fourths. This caused infiltration, and there 
was a black gelatinous mass, varying from one-half to one inch 
* Read before the Wisconsin Association of Veterinary Graduates. 
