EXPERIMENTAL OPERATION IN A CASE OF CONGENITAL MALFORMED FEET. By the PRESIDent. Mr. Spooner.-THE legs now lying on the table were taken from a foal sent to the College by Mr. Smith, V.S., of Epsom. It was obliged to be brought in a cart, in consequence of its labouring under a congenital deformity affecting the fore-limbs, the feet being drawn backwards and upwards, so that the weight of the body, in progression, was thrown upon the os coronæ. Examination shewed not only the derangement to which I have alluded, but likewise an excrescence on the lower part of the os coronæ of each foot, causing partial anchylosis. The case was quite different in its nature from those which are usually the result of contraction of the tendons, and from the first I entertained an unfavourable opinion as to the result of any treatment. Yet, as an operation held out the only chance of ever rendering the animal useful, I did not hesitate to try the experiment. On applying force to bring the foot as much as possible into the natural position, no tension was produced upon the tendons above the pastern, as is usually the case when their contraction causes the heel to be elevated. In such cases we divide the tendon above the pastern. During the present session this operation has been performed upon a mare with perfect success; but in the instance of the foal no force we could employ had any other effect than that of rendering tense the perforans below the pastern. It became evident, therefore, that good could alone result from the division of the tendon at that part where tension could be induced; yet, in order to effect this, it would be necessary to open the synovial sheath. I was, as you know, fearful of the consequence, but still I hoped to learn something from the attempt; and my hope was the greater, inasmuch as I was informed by Mr. Sewell that the French were, in ordinary cases, constantly in the habit of operating after this method. Accordingly the attempt was made; the synovial sheath was cut into; the perforans tendon was divided; the foot was brought partially to bear upon the ground; and at first the case appeared to be doing well: but inflammation soon set in, and, despite all our efforts to check it, extended upwards, and produced an abscess which burst above the pastern joint. The case now became hopeless, and the animal was consequently destroyed: and, from the result of this operation, I conclude that the method adopted by the French, in ordinary cases of contracted tendons, is not to be preferred to that we are, in this country, accustomed to have recourse to. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1845. The TREASURER in the Chair. THE evening was occupied by the consideration of an Essay on RED-WATER, read by Mr. T. D. Gregory. Mr. Robb said that he differed only in one or two general opinions, which Mr. Gregory, in common with many other writers, had advanced. He, Mr. Robb, was inclined, from what he had seen and heard of the disease called red-water, to regard it as identical with jaundice, and to consider obstruction to the free passage of the bile as its principal cause. This view, he thought, would satisfactorily explain many of the symptoms; it being well known that extreme depression of the vital powers, and even death, might follow the sudden suppression of bile; while diarrhoea, and its attendant debility, would be the consequence of an obstruction to its flow into the intestines. He had himself no doubt of the identity of the two diseases; and if the causes which authors state will produce jaundice in man, and those which give rise to red-water in cattle, were compared, the similarity would be found so exact, as to preclude the idea of the two affections being distinct. The principles of the treatment in the two diseases likewise bore a strong resemblance to each other, while the pathology of each was alike in all the more essential particulars. Mr. Robb concluded by stating, that observation and reflection had induced him to think that red-water arose, not from the excess of bile, but from its secretion being suppressed; the elements not being removed from the blood in consequence either of functional disorder of the liver, or of some obstruction existing to the flow of the bile through its ducts. The liver being thus unable to purify the blood, called upon the kidneys to perform that function, and bile was consequently excreted with the urine; although, when he asserted this, he did not mean that pure bile was to be discovered in that secretion, but rather that the elements of bile, which were foreign to healthy urine, were present in red-water. Mr. Morton stated that he did not agree with the conclusions to which Mr. Robb had arrived. It was well known that he had chemically examined the urine of animals suffering under redwater, and he was not aware that the result of his examinations had been controverted. There was no great difficulty in detecting either blood or bile if present in urine; both were capable of demonstration: the tests were dissimilar, the proofs were unlike, and the possibility of mistaking the one for the other it was not very easy to conceive. He had again and again seen in the urine of red-water, not perhaps pure blood, but certainly impure or imperfectly formed blood; such a fluid as is then found to be circulating in the body. Bile, it is true, has often been detected in urine, but it has not as yet been demonstrated in that excretion during the existence of red-water. That the colouring principle of blood and bile were similar, he must be permitted to express a doubt; and even if they were, if iron be not the cause of colour in the blood, as stated by some, the presence of that metal or its oxide, which was no element either of bile or of urine, was so characteristic and conclusive, that, having ascertained its existence in the urine of animals labouring under red-water, he must believe that it and jaundice were distinct diseases, although, doubtlessly, both were intimately associated with the state of the digestive organs, and the reciprocating function of the liver and kidneys he was ready to allow. Mr. Gregory said that "yellows," so called in cattle, answered to the disease termed jaundice in man; from which red-water was as distinct a disease as phrenitis. Mr. Cor asserted that experience had led him to doubt the correctness of the opinion of those gentlemen who associated red-water with parturition. He was not unacquainted with either. He had seen much of both; but he had seen nothing to induce him to connect the one with the other. In his neighbourhood it was most prevalent during the winter season, which was not the period of calving. It was, however, often produced by a particular species of pasture or by change of food. He was acquainted with a farm in Derbyshire where the cattle reared upon the land were not the subjects of red-water; but if any strange beast were pastured on these fields it was certain to be attacked by that disease. He would relate another instance of red-water being produced by the food, because it was one which is not generally noticed. A friend of his, the owner of much stock, for the first three years of their acquaintance never had a single case of red-water. The fourth summer, however, was exceedingly dry, the pastures were burned up,-when suddenly the rain fell, and continued for some time, and the land, from being hard and bare, became all at once wet and luxuriant; and all the cattle on that farm, with a solitary exception, became affected with red-water. With regard to treatment, Mr. Cox said he would honestly confess he had no experience as to the efficacy of bleeding, and the assertions of most practitioners had almost prejudiced his mind against it. He did, however, remember several cases where the owners, not recognising the disease, had, in the early stages of it, withdrawn blood, and the animals recovered. There was also a practitioner residing in his neighbourhood who, in cases of redwater, was accustomed to extract blood, and with by no means ill success. Mr. Boddington observed, that he was fully convinced of the influence of pasturage on the production of this disease. He knew one farm in particular where certain fields, which consisted of wet, rushy, and undrained land, always produced red-water; and here, too, it was most prevalent during the winter season. Mr. Crabb said he had never seen a case of red-water during the summer only after parturition, though in the autumnal months he had often known it to be connected with other causes. Mr. White remarked, that although most pathologists appeared to agree in associating red-water with parturition, he, with many others who had spoken, and who were from Derbyshire, were but of one opinion; namely, that they had never seen it in that county follow immediately upon calving. APRIL 1, 1845. The TREASURER in the Chair. A letter from M. Bouley, confirming the proposal of an exchange of journals with the " Recueil de Médecine Vétérinaire," and soliciting the same for the Veterinary Society of the Seine, was read. CASE OF STRANGULATION OF A TESTICLE RETAINED WITHIN THE ABDOMEN. Dear Sir, By Mr. W. BAKER, M.R.C.V.S. Sudbury, Feb. 28, 1845. THE case of strangulated testicle which was the subject of conversation between us, and which you wished me to give you an account of, occurred in November last, at Shimpling, nine miles from this place. I was requested to attend the horse, but when I arrived he had just died, and the owner, Mr. King, desired me to institute a post-mortem examination, in order to ascertain the cause of death; when, upon opening the abdomen, the same appearances were presented as in a former case recorded by me. The viscera generally were healthy, but a pendulous testicle was found in the iliac region, black and stinking from strangulation, the cord being tightly twisted. The peritoneum in contact with these parts was inflamed, but the cord, above the twisted portion, was in no way affected. I have since ascertained that the horse had evinced continuous pain for about five days prior to his death. When well he was anxious after mares, and had covered several, and was supposed to have got one foal. He was half-bred, and used alternately for the road, plough, &c. The other testicle was removed by the usual mode of castration when he was two years old. He was eight when he died. A singular circumstance claimed my attention yesterday. A heifer calved a fine healthy calf at mid-day; and between two and three o'clock in the same afternoon, when I called at the farm, the |