Acute Tympanites or Hoven in" Cattle. 341 



stomach on tlie internal org'ans and blood vessels, the blood is driven 

 out towards the exterior with the result that the superficial veins, 

 especially those of the head and neck, become greatly distended. The 

 lining' of the mouth, nose, eyes, etc., becomes of a purplish colour 

 owing to accumulation of venous blood. 



IJnless immediate relief is afforded, suffocation sets in, the animal 

 staggering and falling insensible on the ground. 



Death u.'-ually takes place in two to three hours, but sometimes 

 eve)i sooner. 



Treatment. 



Preveiitice consists in proper laiinial management, such as 

 gradual introduction of changes in feeding, etc. 



Curative, if it is to be effective, must be applied as soon as the 

 (condition has been diagnosed. The first thing to do is to remove some 

 of the accumulated gas. This can be done in two ways, namely: — 

 (1) By puncturing the rumen, i.e. thrusting a pocket-knife, or 

 special trocar and canula through the skin and abdominal wall of the 

 left flank straight into the stonuich. This method must be adopted 

 when no proper instrument is available. The chief danger connected 

 M-ith this operation is that some of the food, liquid, etc., may escape 



into the abdominal cavity, and there set up inflammation of its lining 

 membrane. 



(2) Insertion of the stomach tube or probang. By this tube a 

 sure escape for the gases can be provided at very little risk to the 

 animal, no wound being inflicted on the animal as in the previous 

 method. In the case of obstruction in the gullet such an instrument 

 is essential for its removal. 



A GrREATLY IMPROVED StOMACH TlBE. 



Dr. Auesch, of Switzerland, has recently produced a greatly 

 improved form of stomach tube. It consists of a 6^ feet long' 

 metal (aluminium) hollow tube, the free end of which is cup 

 shaped; the ^tomacli end, however, consists of a flexible piece, 

 5 inches long, which is so arranged that when it reaches any light 

 obstruction in the stomach, it will turn upwards. This means that 

 the opening will be found above the mass of food in the stomach and 

 hence the tube does not become choked with food, Init allows free 

 escape for the gases. The older types of probangs did not have this 

 device, with the result that the stomach end got embedded in the mass 

 of food, and thus the escape of gases was prevented. The stomach 

 tube is introduced in the following way: — 



The animal's head is held straight out in a forward and upward 

 direction, so that the nose is on a level with the back. A mouth gag. 



