2 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, I
been encountered in a very large number of postmortem examinations extending over
several years and that the condition was interesting as an undescribed feature in
animal Pathology. Further he considered that the tissues and organs were liable to
this degenerative change in varying degrees in the following order :—Liver, lungs,
intestines and limbs.
Other later reports on apparently the same condition are available, but the
authors do not seem to have been aware of the first report by Smith, which latter
may still be considered as containing the best representation of the macroscopic
features. To quote Smith's own words : " The most unsatisfactory part of the
enquiry was the determination of the cause. On this I have no opinion to offer.
I presume there is some defective secretion of lime from the body, of which salt
the horse excretes a considerable quantity in health, it being probably held in solu-
tion by the carbonic acid, but what can lead to its deposition I cannot conjecture. "
He was emphatic that the changes were not the result of any parasitic invasion,
but this view cannot be accepted any longer for the reasons which will be developed
in the course of this paper. Much credit is due to him, nevertheless, for having
realised, intuitively as it were, the possibility of these calcified lesions affecting the
intestines, liver and other internal structures being related and having the same
etiological basis. Judging from what information is available in the reports of
Oliphant[1880], Meyrick[ 1878], Smith [1879], Burke [1880—1884] and Steel
[ 1881 ], on the subject of so-called internal Bursati involving the liver, lungs,
spleen, etc., it is possible that these minute calcified nodules had been encountered,
in at least some cases, by workers much earlier even than Smith. Steel [ 1884 ]
refers to a case of an enormous liver, which he considers to be an exceptional find-
ing. With an experience of over fifteen years Lingard [ 1905 ] states that calcare-
ous nodules in the liver are of very frequent occurrence and that one rarely makes
an autopsy on any breed of equine which has been any length of time in this
country without finding a few calcareous nodules under the capsule or in the
parenchyma of the organ. The photograph of a portion of liver that he puts
forward (Plate II), as showing perihepatitis and what he calls small filarial nodules,
leaves little doubt about the identity of the condition with the subject matter of
this article. He says that these nodules occur in the cortex of the kidney and
describes two types of nodules in the lungs, the smaller variety being very small
calcareous bodies about the size of a grain of mustard seed; and a larger variety,
which is less frequent and of irregular shape presenting rough, worm-eaten surfaces.
With regard to the liver nodules he cites earlier European literature:—" Colin and
Reynal [ 1862 ] were the first to make mention of white or yellow calcified and
irregularly spherical nodules in the liver of the horse. These were formed of nume-
rous concentric layers varying in size from a millet seed to a pea, although there