86 ABSTRACTS.

there was no doubt that the tear in the wall of the stomach had been deter­mined by great distension of the stomach with food material. The result brought out, therefore, is that in 135 cases of colic treated with eserin there

I Treatment 'Witiz I Fatal Cases Year. No. of Cases and 'Witizout Fatal witiz and wit/t-

of Colic. Eserin. Cases. lout Treatment ky Eserin.

1885 -1-8 35 13 12 10 2

1886 60 -1-9 I I 11 I I -

1887 25 15 10 3 2 1

1888 3 1 29 2 3 3 --

]889 52 49 3 6 5 1

1890 135 81 54 9 9 -

1891 48 29 19 5 3 2

1892 32 25 7 3 I 2

TOTAL.

I 43 1 312 119

---~-2 -I 4.J. 8

I ----- -----------

was only one case of rupture of the stomach in which the blame of the acci­dent could possibly, but not certainly (since the degree of impaction present was high), be ascribed to the eserin. In any case these statistics do not bear out or warrant the assertIOn that eserin either favours or induces the production of rupture. In the regiment here referred to the dose of eserin employed was almost always one-tenth of a gramme, and this dose was repeated only in cases in which there was extreme tympanites not immediately relieved by puncture. Hirseman contradicts the assertion that colic ends fatally when the bowels are not moved after subcutaneous injection of eserin. He has observed many cases in which after the first full dose of one-tenth of a gramme no laxative action was produced, and still the patient recovered. The statistics, indeed, embrace fourteen cases in which six to eight hours after the administration of the first dose of one-tenth gramme a second similar amount was given without producing any injurious effect.

THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF ROARING.

IN the Revue Vrtrrillaire for January 1894, M. Labat gives the result of his experience of Moller's operation for roaring.

CASE I.-A seven-years-old gelding. This horse had been bought when a three-year-old, and had never been ailing since. He had never had any cough or discharge from the nose, and had never presented any signs of sore throat. He had only light work to do, except in summer time, when he had

ABSTRACTS.

to do daily the distance of about 10 kilometers. For three years the respira­tion of the horse had been absolutely normal; but one day during a long drive, when the temperature was high, he roared for the first time, and since that he had roared whenever he was used at a fast pace. Of late he had become worse, and roared even when moderately exercised. Various lines of treatment had been tried without success, and he was ultimately brought to the Toulouse Veterinary School to be operated upon. The operation was performed by Labat, who in opening the larynx was much struck with its narrow cavity. During the first days after the operation all went well, and by the twentieth day the wound in the larynx was reduced to a very small slit, but the horse then began to cough and to have a discharge. Appropriate treatment led to a cessation of the acule symptoms, and by the thirty-second day after the operation the laryngeal wound was completely healed. Although :lpparently cured of the angina of which he had previously shown symptom~, the horse still had a frequent hoarse cough, and he showed some difficulty in drinking when the bucket was placed .on the ground, the water escaping in part by the nose. He drank quite well, though slowly, when the bucket was held up. He became much emaciated in spite of an abundant nourishment. Before returning the horse to his owner, Labat tested his respiration, and found that, when put to the trot, he roared after he had gone about 200

yards. The roaring remained the same after some minutes at exercise, but it was not so bad as before the operation. For twelve days after this the horse remained in the infirmary, and during that time he was given iodide of potassium morning and night; he was then returned to his owner, and the administration of iodide of potassium was continued for another twenty-five days, the horse receiving gentle exercise each day. A very decided improve­ment in the roaring set in. He did not roar even when tested at a rapid pace for 8 kilometers, although before the operation the dyspncea had been great with half that exercise. The horse coughed after drinking, but not so badly as before. He also coughed after swallowing the first mouthfuls of food at each occasion of feeding. All seemed to be going well for a time, but some months later a relapse occurred. He had great difficulty in drink­ing, and sometimes was threatened with asphyxia. He was, therefore, brought back to the Toulouse Veterinary School, where he had his throat blistered, and r;;ceived iodide of potassium in the water; but notwithstanding this and uther treatment no improvement could be effected. He roared in the most frightful manner whenever he was made to trot.

CASE II.-A five-year-old gelding. This horse had strangles at the age of two-and-a-half. It recovered, and when four years old it had an attack of sore throat. The recovery from this had been slow; the respiration remained a little harsh, the horse had an oGcasional cough, and he gradually became a roarer. When brought tb the Toulouse Veterinary College, the general condition of the animal was good. He had a frequent loud cough, but no difficulty in swallowing. The region of the throat was not painful, swollen, nor sensitive, but coughing could be very easily excited. There was no discoverable deformity of the larynx or trachea. The respiratory move­ments were much accelerated even by slight exercise, and the horse then roared with a clear metallic note. Moller's operation was performed, and the laryngeal wound rapidly healed up. By the twenty-fourth day after the operation it was completely closed, and the horse was sent back to his owner (15th April 1892). At this time when exercised at a trot he almost imme­diately began to roar, although not so badly as before the operation. He was allowed rest, and given iodide uf potassium. This produced some slight improvement, but he still continued to roar. The last report regarding him was that the roaring had become intermittent. For some days no abnormal sounds were produced by exercise, and the next day without apparent reason he roared even at a moderate pace.

ss ABSTRACTS.

CASE IlL-An aged gelding. This animal was an excellent jumper, and for some years had been used as a hunter. He had gradually become a roarer, but that could not be attributed to any previous attack of sore throat, or to any disease of the respiratory passages. The roaring was so Lad that the horse was useless. He was in good condition, and had all the signs of health. The larynx and trachea appeared normal, and the region of the throat was not sensitive; there was no cough. When put to the trot the animal almost immediately emitted sonorous roaring sounds, and he had been a roarer for three or four years before he was brought to M. Labat. Mi,ller's operation was performed, and the wound had healed up perfectly by the thirtieth day. When tested at the gallop it was found that he roared, and he did the same even at a trot. The roaring, however, was not so bad as before the operation, and the sound was changed in character. He was sent back to his master some days afterwards, and submitted to a cour5e of medication for fifteen days. Notable improvement followed; the roaring became less and the respiration more free. Four or five months later the horse was used to hunt, and behaved in a satisfactory manner, but shortly afterwards the roaring reappeared with extraordinary intensity, and the horse was killed. His larynx was sent to M. Labat, who found the following con­dition :-

The mucous membrane of the larynx was thickened, and its cavity was COll­tracted. The anterior part of the cicatrix resulting from the ablation of the left arytenoid had developed into a polypoid excrescence as large as a nut. The stenosis of the larynx and this excrescence had been the principal, and probably the only, cause of the persistent roaring.

M. Labat sums up the results in these three and other six operations which he had previously performed as follows :-

In one case there was a cure, which had lasted for nine months (date of last report); in three there was a temporary cure, followed after a longer or shorter interval by a relapse to a condition as bad as before the operation; in four the operation affected an improvement which was still maintained. In one case the operation entailed death.

In concluding his account of these cases, .1\1. Labat expresses the opinion that most of those who have performed Moller's operation have been prema­ture in their announcement of its success.

TORSION OF THE UTERUS.

A RECE~T number of the Scl17(1eizer Arclli7!. jill' Thierheilkllllde contains an interesting article on this subject by Veterinary Surgeon Kniisel, of Lucerne. H1S views regarding the manner in which torsion of the uterus is brought about are as follows :-

The uterus is suspended in the abdominal and pelvic cavities by means of its broad ligaments. These ligaments, which are double folds of peritoneum, descend from the sacral and lumbar regions to the edges of the uterine body and to the convex curvature of its horns. Here the tlVO serous lall1in~ separate, to cover over the body and the horns as well as the ovaries. The non-pregnant uterus cannot change its position, because it is adequately fixed by the ligaments. Even when the womb is distended by mucous or collections of pus, or by a dead fcetus, it does not undergo torsion, and that is because the main factor in determining the torsion, viz., the presence of the living and moving fcetus, is absent. When the pregnant uterus does change its position, that, according to Kniisel's view, is ascribable to the circumstance that the pregnant womb projects forwards a considerable distance beyond the