CoG INTESTINAL SYMPTOMS AND FUNCTIONAL DISORDERS. 



these, but also that there are numerous minor symptoms and 

 features of disturbance which are no less deserving of our 

 attention. The greater number of cases, except such as owe 

 their existence to the ingestion of green food or roots, are 

 marked by a confined state of the bowels. If feces are voided 

 at all, as they may be in the early stages repeatedly, they are 

 in small amount, sometimes soft, oftener dry and coated with 

 mucus ; and all voided in such a manner as to indicate an 

 irritable condition of the canal. 



In all, unless in protracted cases, and such as through com- 

 plications terminate fatally, the pulse is unaffected save during 

 the height of the paroxysm, when it will increase much in 

 frequency, and become altered in character, not unfrequently 

 showing intermittency ; at the same time the respirations are 

 hurried or sighing. Retention of urine, or its discharge in a 

 jerking manner, is a common feature of spasmodic colic ; the 

 bladder may be distended, but its muscular structure being 

 similarly aftected with that of the bowel, the due performance 

 of function is arrested. 



It seems probable that the symptoms of extreme restlessness, 

 frequent pawing, much pain, with anxious turning of the head 

 to the flanks, are indicative of involvement to a greater extent 

 of the small intestine ; while stretching of the body as if 

 desirous of urinating, throwing the head upwards with curling 

 of the upper lip, and a disposition to move backwards and 

 press with the posterior parts against some resisting object, 

 as the wall or stall-post, are more particularly indicative of 

 disturbance associated with impaction of the large bowel. 

 In these cases of impaction and decided torpidity of the 

 colon in particular, there is a disposition to strain violently 

 and to resist the introduction of the hand or enema into the 

 posterior bowel, which is itself empty, lax, and dilated, often 

 dry and covered with husky feculent matter or tenacious ill- 

 conditioned mucus. 



Independently of the condition of intestinal spasm pure and 

 simple, or of nu>re accumulation of ingesta, as the result of 

 over-repletion or of feeding on indigestible and bulky material, 

 or of paralysis and incompetency of the canal to act on the 

 material which it may contain, or of a combination of these 

 causes, we have a somewhat different condition with a certain 



