Prognosis. Tiealiiicnt. 259 



percussion and the changes in tiie left Hank distinguish the dis- 

 ease from overfilling- (dilatation) of the rumen; chronic bloat- 

 ing and atony of the fore-stomachs are much slower in devel- 

 opment and "their symptoms occur in frequently repeated at- 

 tacks. Bloating due to obstruction of the esophagus or of the 

 cardia is diagnosticated on the basis of a different history and 

 in the former the sound encounters an impediment; belch- 

 ing is also alisent. It must not be forgotten that gastritis 

 due to foreign bodies sometimes is initiated by acute bloating. 



Prognosis. Acute bloating is usually much more dangerous 

 in sheep than in cattle, evidently for the reason that in the com- 

 paratively small body of the sheep a minor excess in gases may 

 bi:ing about serious disturbances of respiration and circulation 

 and that the comparatively weak muscularis of the rumen is 

 unable to overcome the pressure and expel the gases. The prog- 

 nosis (aside from those measures which may bring about recov- 

 ery) is the more unfavorable the larger the amount of ingested 

 food and the more fermentable it is. Everything else being 

 equal, bloating caused by clover is most dangerous, because a 

 fulminant course brings about an intimate admixture of the 

 food contents and the gases. The course of the affection is also 

 unfavorably influenced by debility, early youth or advanced age 

 and preceding disturbances of nutrition. The more animals 

 get sick simultaneously, the more losses are to be expected, be- 

 cause the smaller is the possibility of timely treatment. 



Treatment. Various methods are employed to remove the 

 gases from the rumen ; but those are primarily to be employed 

 wdiicli will permit the escape through the natural route, i. e., 

 through the esophagus and the mouth, the operative production 

 of an artificial oj^ening being indicated only after the other 

 means have failed or in the immediate presence of danger of 

 death. Massage of the flank must be practiced on both flanks 

 wdiile the foreparts are elevated (page 253) ; according to Eber, 

 this procedure is the most reliable and simplest method to re- 

 move bloating in cattle, except when bloating has been pro- 

 duced by obstruction of the esophagus. Compressing the ab- 

 domen by tying a rope around it or a constant, strong, even 

 pressure on the left flank, may also bring about good results 

 (Rychner). 



Elevating the animal serves the purpose to bring the gastric entrance of 

 the esophagus in a position above the gases over the masses of feed, and this 

 may be accomplished in the following manner: A stable door or a strong board 

 is laid obliquely over a box, barrel or bundle of straw. The animal is then placed 

 •with its front legs on the improvised inclined plane and supported in this position 

 by two persons who get a hold of the thorax. In an emergency the front feet 

 of the animal may be placed in the crib (Dommerheld). Some kind of an arrange- 

 ment also must be improvised if the animal is on pasture. Smaller animals like 

 sheep may be placed on their hind legs. 



The effect of driving up hill is similar to that of massage 

 of the rumen wdth the animal raised in its foreparts, and it is, 



