872 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
tense distress that the gas of fermentation would cause. Paresis 
is a word that is used in a very broad sense. If I am not mis¬ 
taken, it was originally meant to describe cerebral softening, but. 
now commonly used to describe a local affection. In regard to 
cribbing, inasmuch as it happens so often that it turns into 
wind-sucking, I think it ought to be called unsoundness. Poco- 
motor ataxia is sometimes found in horses. One horse that I 
have recently condemned was probably the most beautiful case 
that I ever saw. As far as I could trace it, the case was in ex¬ 
istence for about three years and he was useless for over a year. 
He lacked co-ordination of all four limbs, and if blindfolded and 
backed he would collapse in a heap. In fact, I have seen a num¬ 
ber of similar cases that I would term locomotor ataxia. 
Dr. Merillat: Oh, no. Chorea can be cured with time. In 
human subjects, with age it entirely disappears. 
Dr. Campbell: Have you ever seen a case of St. Vitus’ 
dance in a horse? 
Dr. Merillat: I thi nk I have. 
Dr. Hughes: As to wind-sucking, those who are in the 
habit of tapping horses have noticed that it is a very common 
thing not to be able to light the gas. This is found also in 
horses that are not cribbers. In regard to chorea. Dr. Merillat 
refers to it as the same as the disease found in humans. He 
mentions, though, chorea of the dog, which is entirely different 
in its symptoms from that of man. Why not go a little further, 
and call this crampy condition so often met with in horses also 
chorea? We should endeavor not so much from a pathological 
as from a practical standpoint to find a suitable name for these 
different conditions. The same as in chorea, a decidedly crampy 
horse gets worse right along, hence it is a progressive disease, 
and it will assume an acute form sooner or later, if, for in¬ 
stance, such an animal be attacked with pneumonia or any 
acute disease. The complication always lessens the tendency 
to recover and often proves fatal. I always associate rheuma¬ 
tism with chorea, and find it a very difficult matter in many 
cases to differentiate them. From a practical standpoint, I 
would ask Dr. Merillat to give a technical name for the condi¬ 
tion of a horse that is commonly called “ crampy.” I ex¬ 
amined a horse recently for soundness at the stockyards, and in 
my certificate stated that the horse had chorea. The case was 
a very pronounced one, and I naturally rejected him. I was 
asked by the seller if chorea meant crampy, and I said “ yes,” 
as that is the name under which the disease is known to ordi- 
