274 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
the past three days with choking symptoms, efforts at coughing i 
and gagging, with abstinence from food and water, and frequent ! 
outcries of pain. As he partook of no food, gruels, beef tea, 
and milk had been administered with a spoon, as also had the , 
syrup of buckthorn. No knowledge was possessed by the 
owner as to the condition of his bowels. For twenty-four hours 
prior to consulting me, he had shown evident distress in breath- ^ 
ing, and for this reason pneumonia was suspected, and he sought ! 
advice. | 
Examination of the patient revealed a very weak and flutter- | 
ing heart-beat, temperature 103, undoubted hydrothorax, and 
great pain somewhere near the entrance to the chest. Saliva 
was dripping from the mouth, and the head was extended upon | 
the neck. Lifting the little fellow by catching him at the 
elbows caused him to cry out with pain, or when standing he 
would frequently evince pain when he would bend his neck^ or | 
body. He was extremely weak, staggering, and when putting 
weight upon a leg the lower portion (from the carpus and 
tarsus to the toes) would rest upon the floor. ^ ^ | 
No difficulty was found in making a diagnosis of foreign ; 
body, but its location and connections were uncertain. Differ¬ 
ential diagnoses were made with pleurisy with effusion, pneu¬ 
monia, and organic heart disease. 
As death was impending and the patient suffering acutely, , 
my advice to end his misery was readily agreed to. An im¬ 
mediate post-mortem revealed the presence in the thoracic por¬ 
tion of the oesophagus of a triangular chicken-bone, with sharp I 
projections, one of which had penetrated through all the coats : 
of the oesophagus and entered the thoracic cavitythrough I 
which opening all the liquids that were forced into his unwill¬ 
ing mouth passed, until the cavity of the thorax was two-thirds | 
full, the heart being entirely submerged, and the lungs pumping 
away in this conglomorate mass. The specimen, with the bone 
in situ, was placed in a bottle of alcohol as evidence of a most ; 
peculiar accident and complication. i 
. - - ' ^ ~ ^ ^ 
“ Reports of Cases ” is a department of the Review j 
which can be made the most practical aid to veterinarians. The 
profession is always solicited to employ it as freely as they wish. 1 
It is singular that it is not overrun with interesting case reports. - | 
Utilize it during the dull summer months and thus help your 
profession, your brethren, and yourself. 
