2')H Acute BloatiiiLT nl' Huiiiiiiaiit.s. 



the back. The abdominal walls are very tense, can be pressed 

 in only with difficnlty, and at once protrude again after removal 

 of the pressure. The left hand placed over the region of the 

 rumen cannot feel any movement of the latter. Percussion over 

 a large territory, sometimes down to the lower third of the 

 abdomen, is of low pitch, excessively full, not t^nnpanitic and 

 occasionally metallic, in the region of the left flank. As bloat- 

 ing progresses, and as the walls of the abdomen and of the ru- 

 men become more tense, the percussion sound becomes weaker, 

 without, however, becoming very weak. The rumen sounds 

 (friction) are no longer heard; crepitation, however, becomes 

 more distinct. 



Occasionally gases are expelled from the rumen and vom- 

 iting may exceptionally occur; defecation occurs in the begin- 

 ning, but becomes impossible later on. 



As the abdomen enlarges, respiration becomes more and 

 more difficult. The animals attempt to move especially the mid- 

 dle ribs to a higher degree, they dilate their nostrils, open the 

 mouth and stretch out the tongiie. 



The mucous membranes soon assume a bluish-red color, 

 their vessels become dilated and form a well-marked reticulum, 

 particularly in the conjunctivae; the veins of the subcutaneous 

 connective tissue (on the neck, on the udder) likewise become 

 dilated. The pulse is accelerated in proportion as the abdo- 

 men is more and more distended ; the pulse then becomes grad- 

 ally weaker and finally can no longer be felt. 



In the further course of the affection the animals move 

 restlessly about, expressing intense anxiety, and perspiration 

 appears on the skin. Foamy saliva flows from the mouth. The 

 region of the back and croup sometimes develops a cutaneous 

 emphysema (Eeynal, Woehner). 



In very severe cases the general cyanosis gradually in- 

 creases, the heart beat becomes bounding, the extremities and 

 the ears are cold, the animals stagger, break down and finally 

 die with convulsions. 



Course. After the ingestion of large masses of very rap- 

 idly fermenting feed, gas is formed very quickly, even during 

 digestion or immediately after it, and the gas formation pro- 

 gresses so rapidly that suffocation may occur within a few 

 hours. In other cases the development of gas is slower, pow- 

 erful convulsive contractions of the rumen, and frequent belch- 

 ing in combination with vomiting preventing the excessive ac- 

 cumulation of gas; in the meantime the fermentation itself be- 

 comes less and tlie animals recover completely. 



Diagnosis. Rapid increase in the size of the abdomen in 

 connection with strong tension of the abdominal wall, increase 

 in the intensity of the percussion sounds over a large area, give 

 a characteristic clinical picture. The behavior of the sound on 



