Symptoms. 247 



Vomiting is particularly obstinate in gastritis, in occlusion 

 of the intestines, as well as in certain diseases of the peritoneum 

 and of the central nervous system. The animals become the 

 more exhausted the longer the vomiting lasts and the more fre- 

 quently the act is repeated. Some animals also cough a good 

 deal because the gastric contents irritate the mucosa of the en- 

 trance of the larynx. 



In horses the vomited matter usually consists of half- or 

 little-digested food, sometimes mixed with mucus, or it is even 

 hemorrhagic ; the mixture smells sour and has an intensely acid 

 reaction; ruminants usually expel the contents of the paunch 

 only, and the expelled contents are characterized by a peculiar 

 smell (Ellenberger and Dieckerhoff deny that cattle can vomit 

 the contents of the abomasum). 



The vomitus of carnivora and omnivora consists likewise 

 of particles of food in case the stomach has been full. If vom- 

 iting has occurred several times, or if it took place on an empty 

 stomach, the vomitus consists of a watery-mucous fluid or merely 

 of liiick tenacious mucus; the latter appears at first greenish, 

 then brownish or greenish-yellow, because to the morbid contrac- 

 tions of the stomach are added the antiperistaltic movements of 

 the duodenum. Birds sometimes expel the contents of the crop 

 with a swinging motion of the head. 



The vomitus may contain blood (vomitus cruentus) if the 

 vomiting is caused by gastritis, gastric ulcer, a disintegrating 

 tumor or an injury of the wall of the stomach ; blood may, how- 

 ever, also become mixed with the contents of the stomach in the 

 pharynx or the buccal cavity. In overloading the stomach with 

 blood, carnivora also vomit a lot of coagulated blood. Masses 

 of pus and animal parasites are rarely found in the blood. 



Vomiting of fecal matter (ileus, miserere) may be recog- 

 nized in carnivora by the peculiar color and smell if the intes- 

 tinal contents have come into the stomach from the last portion 

 of the small or from the large intestines. The absence of an 

 acid reaction mthout the peculiar fecal color or smell only per- 

 mits a suspicion of fecal vomiting without absolute certainty as 

 to diagnosis. 



Horses with secondary dilatation of the stomach often vomit 

 a material similar to that of the contents of the small intestines. 

 In intoxications the vomited matter sometimes has a smell 

 characteristic of the poison which caused the attack (phos- 

 phorus, arsenic, hydrocyanic acid, carbolic acid). 



Cases in which food masses have become wedged in the esophagus 

 in consequence of ectasia of the esophagus and are expelled by the 

 mouth or nose, must be distinguished from vomiting. In the former 

 cases the vomited matter is not acid and does not contain free HCl.) 



Emetic irritation does not always lead to vomiting, but 

 only to gagging (vomituritio). The animal shows the same 



