194 Veterinary Medicine. 



eating rj^egrass. The ripening seeds of many forage plants often 

 act in this wa}-, (annual and perennial ryegrass, millet, Hun- 

 garian grass, chick vetch, vetches generally ). The same has been 

 observed of the leaves of growing maize, grape-vine leaves, and 

 potato plants. 



Musty and spoiled fodders of all kinds are very dangerous, the 

 toxic principles of the fungi and bacterial ferments paralyzing 

 the sympathetic nervous filaments. 



Fodders that are imperfectly niasticated and insalivated owing to 

 defective teeth or diseased jaws or glands are liable to prove 

 hurtful in a similar way. 



A full drink of zvater and especially of ice cold water after a feed 

 of grain is one of the most potent factors. The stomach and intes- 

 tines are both roused to violent peristaltic action, the undigested 

 food is washed on into the bowels, and too often the action of the 

 cold induces congestion and partial paresis, and exposes the un- 

 digested mass to the uncontrolled action of ferments. 



Circulatory troubles CQ.\xsQ^d by verminous embolism (see intestinal 

 congestion) is another very prolific factor. A sudden chill in an 

 animal that is perspiring and fatigued may precipitate an attack, 

 by causing a retrocession of blood from the skin to the intestines, 

 with resulting paresis of their coats. 



Symptoms. The condition is usually complicated with gastric 

 tympau}', so that we have a complication of s\miptoms. The 

 history of the case is often diagnostic, showing one of the above 

 mentioned causes, and above all a full drink after a feed of grain, 

 speedily followed by abdominal pain, gaseous distension 

 of the abdomen, causing death in two hours or upward. The 

 distension of the abdomen usually shows more on the right than 

 the left, and the resonance on percu.ssion is greater. Colics are 

 usually less violent than in intestinal congestion, and the actions 

 of the animal are less precipitate or disorderly. He may lie down, 

 roll and ri.se, but the constant restless movement, the sitting on 

 the haunches, and the frequent agonized turning of the nose 

 toward the flank are rarely shown. The animal is rather dull 

 and prostrate, passing finally into a stupor, the face is pinched 

 and anxious, the back arched, the head pendent, the walk .slow 

 and unsteady, and respiration and pulse accelerated. There is 

 no complete intermission of pain, though it is more acute at one 



