SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
871 
horse, then I have for years been regarding wrongfully a certain 
condition as chorea. The condition I refer to is that peculiar 
spasmodic twitching and contraction of the muscles of the hind 
limbs or tail exhibited when a horse is backed up or turned 
around, or sometimes seen when the animal is standing quietly 
in the stall. 
Dr. Merillat: Mr. Chairman, as to snoring, I agree with 
Dr. Hughes, except in the nomenclature of the condition. The 
term “snoring,” described by physiologists, is a guttural sound 
produced during slumber—consequently, I took it for granted 
that you wanted a description of that condition. The trouble 
Dr. Hughes described is due to muscular atrophy, which is a 
very common condition. I have a case in mind that was 
so aggravated that it nearly suffocated during exertion. I 
do not call this condition snoring. I took snoring to 
mean nothing else but snoring. If you can get a name 
for a noise between sniffling and snoring you can name 
the condition Dr. Hughes describes. Regarding grunting I 
have stated that it is itsiially due to pleuritic adhesion, follow¬ 
ing infectious pleurisy, and affecting the left inferior laryngeal 
nerve, which accounts for its frequent association with roaring. 
Grunting may also be caused by abdominal lesions. One grunter 
I held a post-mortem on was found to have an adhesion between 
the colon and parietal peritoneum. That animal was a fearful 
grunter. In my experience, however, I have found that a pleu¬ 
ritic condition is the more frequent cause of grunting. In 
writing these remarks I was at sea in dealing with the word 
“ paresis.” Paresis, as a general disease or a primary condition 
is, I believe, the name applied to a form of human insanity not 
recognized in the lower animals. The word paresis, of course, 
might be used to express partial paralysis of special nerves, all 
of which, as stated in my paper, must be regarded as serious 
conditions. As to swallowing air, I am in the same fix as Dr. 
Hughes, so far as my own observations are concerned. I have, 
however, observed that when a bloated cribber is tapped with 
a trocar and canula the gas will not ignite, and has not the 
characteristic smell of the usual intestinal gases. 
Dr. Quitman : I want to add my evidence to this last 
statement. In the first place, there is no doubt that a human 
being can swallow sufficient air to swell himself up. In fact, I 
know a man who does it for fun. If it is possible for a man, it 
ought to be for a horse. The gas seems to be much cooler than 
that of fermentation. Then, the horse does not show the in- 
