ii8 Veteri?iary Medicine. 



were rejected by the mouth. (Caillau, Leblanc, Prevost, Giion). 

 Again thev may block the passage from the first to the third 

 stomach (Schauber, Feldamann, Adamovicz. Tyvaert, Mathieu). 



In calves on milk the}' are especially injurious as beside the 

 dangers of blocking the passages already referred to, the unen- 

 crusted hairs and straws irritate the mucous membranes and still 

 worse, the putrid fermentations going on in tlieir interstices, pro- 

 duce irritant and poisonous products, and disseminate the germs 

 of similar fermentations in the fourth stomach and intestine. 

 Here the symptoms are bloating, colics, impaired or irregular 

 appetite, foetid diarrhoea, foetor of the breath and cutaneous ex- 

 halations, and rapidly progressive emaciation. 



Diagnosis is too often impossible. Tympanies, diarrhoea, 

 colics, etc., may lead to suspicion, but unless specimens of the 

 smaller hair balls are rejected b}' the mouth or anus there can be no 

 certainty of their presence. If arrested in the cervical portion of 

 the gullet they may be pressed upward into the mouth by 

 manipulations applied from without. The looped wire extractor 

 may be u.sed on any portion of the oe.sophagus. If lodged in the 

 demicanal the pa.ssage of a probang will give prompt relief. If 

 retained in the rumen and manifestly hurtful, rumenotomy is 

 called for as soon as a diagnosis can be made. 



FOREIGN BODIES IN THE RUMEN AND RETICULUM. 



Common. Harmless or injurious. Perforating objects. Traumatisms 

 of contiguous organs. Causes ; hurried primary mastication, morbid appe- 

 tite. Bodies found. Lesions ; catarrh, perforations, congestions, ulcera- 

 tions of mucosa, abscess, trauma of liver, spleen, diaphragm, abdominal 

 and thoracic walls, lung, pleura, pericardium, heart. Symptoms ; absent, 

 or, indigestion, tjmipany, eructations, hepatic, respiratory or circulatory 

 disorder, colics, local tenderness, crepitation, substernal exudate, costive- 

 ness, difficult urination or defecation, bloody faeces, nervous disorder. 

 Treatment; Prevention ; avoidance of cau.ses, gravitation methods, incision. 



These are so frequent that they can hardly be looked on as ab- 

 normal, but they mu.st be accepted as pathological when they 

 cause .serious irritation or digestive disorder. This result is seen 



