INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS 561 



acid and sulphuretted hydrogen. Ammonia, otherwise than in the form of 

 carbonate, may have a speedy elfect in reducing the tympany. Chlorinated 

 lime in small doses, and freely diluted, is often beneficial, and carbolic acid, 

 with the same precautions as to dilution, appears to prevent or retard the 

 elimination of noxious gas. Linseed oil is a good remedy both for its 

 well-known effect in keeping down fermentation in the ingesta and for its 

 subsequent action as a laxative. Back-raking and clysters are j^articularly 

 useful in giving increased facilities for breaking off wind, and of softening 

 and assisting in the removal of hardened fseces. 



Puncture of the large gut (colon) with a suitable trochar and canula is a 

 comparatively safe and very effectual remedy in the hands of the skilled 

 veterinarian, but without an intimate knowledge of anatomy it vvill not be 

 advisable for the horseman to attempt it. 



Only during the paroxysms of pain is the pulse very much disturbed, and 

 the temperature is but slightl}^ raised, or not at all in cases of short duration. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS 



Enteritis and Peritonitis often pass under this name. The former is a 

 disease of the middle or muscular coat of the intestine, or it may affect the 

 mucous layer also when it is known as muco-enteritis. It is a very fatal 

 disease, and not much is known of its true nature. There are some farms 

 and stables where it is prone to occur, and the most thorough investigation 

 may fail to discover any defect in the water or food. The death of horses 

 suffering from this malady in such a short time has led to the supposition 

 that some disease germ gets introduced into the intestinal wall, and post- 

 mortem examination of a superficial nature goes to confirm it by the 

 patchy character of the discoloured and diseased portion of the bowel. 

 While enteritis usually comes on without any appai-ent cause, it may also 

 be a sequel to colic, impaction or other disease. Chills and excessive fatigue 

 are also supposed to produce it. 



Symptoms. — These have a common likeness to colic, but the patient's 

 behaviour is usually more temperate ; in the place of violent pawing and 

 rolling, he scrapes the ground uneasily and lies down carefully, not with 

 the abandon of a horse with spasmodic colic. He remains longer prone 

 and looks mournfully round from time to time, gets up again, scrapes, 

 crouches, and soon resumes his old attitude on the floor of the box. The 

 membranes of the eye and nostrils, in sympathy with the bowels, are very 

 much injected, the pulse irritable and small, and a high temperature is 

 persistently maintained throughout. There are no intervals or remissions 

 of pain as in colic. Clammy sweats alternate with coldness of the body 

 surface, and the legs and ears vary greatly — one leg will be warm and 

 another cold, the ears at one time warm and at another cold. As the 

 disease progresses, he will, if in a loose box, wander round and round 

 unhappily, with tail somewhat erect and trembling when he comes to a 

 halt. He may die in a fit of delirium, or gradually sink ; the quietness 

 which is often mistaken for improvement in his condition is but a precursor 

 of death. 



Treatment. — In a disease tho origin of which is so ill understood, it is 



