=Hydatids= have been occasionally found in the heart, the most of which have probably been animal in their character, (_acephalocysts_.) A female, forty years old, who had been suffering pain in the region of the heart for some months, suddenly died, after running rapidly up stairs. One ounce of fluid was found in the pericardium. A considerable tumor was found at the apex of the heart, which slightly fluctuated. This tumor was about three inches in diameter, globular in form, and encroached considerably upon the cavity of the right ventricle. When laid open, it was found to contain a large number of small cysts or hydatids, varying in size from that of a small pea to that of a pigeon’s egg, the space between which was filled with a soft curdlike substance, of a yellow color.[11] =Ossification of Coronary Arteries.= That condition of the arteries of the heart usually termed _ossification_ is more properly one of _calcification_, consisting of a deposit of hard, gritty, calcareous matter, in which there is none of the true character of real bone, no trace of bone-corpuscle or vascular canals ever being discovered in them. Chemical analysis has shown the deposits to be composed of 50 parts of animal matter, with 47½ of the phosphate and 2 of the carbonate of lime in every 100. This matter being deposited in circular layers, the artery becomes gradually converted into a hard, bony-like tube, which may be traced with the finger along the grooves of the heart through which the coronary artery runs. This is peculiarly a disease of old people, and may accompany a similar condition of the arch of the aorta or of the semilunar valves, and by interfering with the proper nutrition of the heart may result in other forms of disease, as fatty degeneration, dilatation, &c. =Abscess.= Abscess of the heart, may unquestionably follow an attack of carditis, or inflammation of the muscular substance. The cut surface of the heart in these cases, not unfrequently shows small cavities containing a purulent fluid, and in some instances a distinct abscess is found. A man, sixty years old, was suddenly attacked, while at work, with coma and great feebleness, followed by death on the third day. The left ventricle being opened, an abscess was discovered near the apex, irregular in form, and containing a bloody, purulent-looking fluid. The coronary arteries were much ossified.