DISEASES OF CATTLE 463 



any cause in the upper part of the respiratory tract which threatens 

 the death of the animal by asphyxia (suffocation). The mode of 

 procedure is as follows : Have an assistant extend the animal's head 

 as far as possible to make the trachea tense and prominent ; make a 

 longitudinal incision about 2 to 2 J /^ inches long through the skin 

 and deeper tissues and trachea at the most prominent part of the 

 trachea, which is about the middle or upper third, and then insert 

 the tracheotomy tube. The latter should be removed once or twice 

 daily and cleansed, and the wound dressed antiseptically. To ascer- 

 tain when it is time to discontinue the use of the tube and to 

 allow the wound to close, the hand should be held over the opening, 

 which will necessitate the animal to use its natural passages in breath- 

 ing. Observe if it is performed in a natural manner ; and if so, re- 

 move the tube and allow the wound to close. This is the general 

 mode of procedure where the surgeon has all the necessary instru- 

 ments and a moderate amount of time at his disposal. Often it has to 

 be performed in great haste without the proper instruments and under 

 great disadvantages, the operator having to quickly cut down and 

 open the trachea and spread the parts, using some instrument im- 

 provised by him at the time. This operation only gives the animal 

 relief in breathing, and therefore the proper remedial treatment 

 should be adopted at the onset of the attack and continued until the 

 cause (the disease) has been overcome. 



CHOKING. 



Choking, or the lodging of foreign bodies in the gullet, is di- 

 vided into pharyngeal, cervical, and thoracic, according to location 

 of the obstruction. The symptoms in general are uneasiness on the 

 part of the patient, involuntary movement of the jaws, grinding of 

 the teeth, a profuse escape of saliva, and tympanites of the rumen. 

 If the obstruction is in the pharynx, the mouth speculum should be 

 introduced and the oiled hand and arm of the operator inserted and 

 an effort made to remove the obstruction. Many cases of choking 

 may be relieved by giving a few ounces of any bland oil at frequent 

 intervals and pulling the gullet on the stretch by forcible extension of 

 the neck. If this should be unsuccessful it will probably be neces- 

 sary to have recourse to the probang, which should be carefully in- 

 troduced and the obstruction slowly pushed downward toward the 

 rumen, care being taken not to lacerate the coats of the esophagus. 

 An operation known as esophagotomy may be performed in case the 

 above efforts have failed. I will briefly describe the steps to be taken 

 in such an emergency. 



ESOPHAGOTOMY. 



In case the obstruction is in the cervical portion of the esopha- 

 gus, the best procedure is to cut through the skin and subcutaneous 

 muscle of the neck onto, but not into, the esophagus. The foreign 

 body may then be pushed upward until it can be reached and re- 

 moved through the mouth. The incision should be long; indeed, it 

 may be made the whole length of the neck if necassary, as it is prac- 

 tically but a subcutaneous wound and heals readily. 



