2o8 Veteri7iary Medicine. 



and a laxative diet may succeed. In the more severe cases it is 

 usually requisite to unload the rectum mechanically. The dog 

 is laid on a table, and the oiled finger introduced through the 

 anus, lubricates the nmcosa as far as it can be reached. Then 

 little by little the firm mass may be disintegrated and removed 

 being steadied by the other hand applied on the abdomen. The 

 handle of a teaspoon or a special spoonshaped curette may at 

 times replace the finger to advantage, but must be used with due 

 judgment, in view of the thinness and friabilit}' of the walls of 

 the gut. 



When the gut has been emptied in this way, or in the less 

 severe cases without this preliminary, purgatives and frequent 

 injections can be used to advantage. Jalap )^ dr. and calomel 

 5 graiiis, or castor oil Y^ oz., or .syrup of buckthorn have been 

 usually employed. The impaction is usually too firm for the 

 transient action of eserine or pilocarpin. As injections, castor 

 oil, soapsuds, decoctions of flaxseed, mallow or elm bark may be 

 employed being repeated as often as they are expelled and supple- 

 mented by the mechanical removal of all .solid matters that come 

 within reach. 



In cases so extensive as to resist the above measures we can. 

 resort to laparotomy. The incision can be made close and 

 parallel to the linea alba, the rectum, or floating colon drawn out 

 through the wound, the other intestines being carefully held 

 back by an assi.stant, the gut is then incised longitudinally and 

 its solid contents removed. The wound is thoroughh^ cleansed, 

 washed with an antiseptic (mercuric chloride i : 2000), and su- 

 tured with catgut, the mucosa being carefully turned in and the 

 muscular and peritoneal coats kept in accurate contact. Finally 

 the abdominal wound is closed by silk sutures. The patient 

 must be placed for a week or ten days on well boiled gruels and 

 the rectum frequently emptied by injections of tepid water. 



In case the bowel is found to be necrotic, the gangrenous 

 section may be excised and the ends brought together by Mur- 

 phy's button, or simply sutured with catgut over a hollow tube of 

 raw potato. 



