260 Acute Bloating- of lvuminaiil.> 



countries (El)er). Energetic contractions of the rnnien may 

 also be produced by freely soaking the flanks with cold water, 

 or by driving the animals into a river (the latter method is to 

 be recommended if numerous cases of the affection occur simul- 

 taneously in sheep). 



The effect of massage of the rumen is materially assisted 

 by such measures as will cause belching or vomiting. A very 

 simple and frequently effective method consists in irritating the 

 velum and the pillars of the fauces of the animal with a dull, 

 flexible rod (the blunt end of a whip wrapped with cloth) ; while 

 this is being done the mouth must be forced open and the tongue 

 drawn out. This frequently causes a good deal of belching with 

 the expulsion of very large amounts of gas, sometimes mixed 

 with food particles. It is advisable to stand on the side of the 

 head of the animal, so that the very fetid gases do not get 

 directly into the face of the practitioner. It is less satis- 

 factory to merely pull out the tongue of the animal, moving 

 it up and down in the mouth with a rope provided with knots or 

 made of straw, or to apply a straw rope soaked in tar or other 

 nauseating substances to the mouth of the animal. 



The removal of the gases in the rumen through an arti- 

 ficial opening is only indicated if the condition of the patient 

 becomes worse in spite of all other means, if suffocation is 

 threatening, or when the animals are on the floor, so that the 

 common methods of treatment have become impossible. The 

 introduction of the stomach tu])e is not a very dangerous pro- 

 cedure ; but it is usually not successful in primary bloating, since 

 the inner opening of the esophagus lies behind the masses of 

 food, so that the tube will immediately become obstructed by 

 food particles. This defect may be remedied by an elevation of 

 the foreparts of the animal; however, when this is done, mas- 

 sage is usually sufficient and makes the use of the stomach tube 

 superfluous (Eber). If the dyspnea is severe, the introduction 

 of the stomach tube may be injurious and may lead to fatal 

 asphyxiation. 



Monroe's stomach tube consists of a spiral wire covered with leather, or 

 of vulcanized rubber or guttapercha, and terminates at one end in a blunt knob 

 with several openings. It is introduced in a manner previously described (see 

 page 233), and after its internal end has entered tlie rumen the expulsion of 

 gases may be supported by pressure upon tlie left flank. — Sendrail recently 

 recommended a tube formed by a spiral metal 1)and which is said to be much 

 more durable than the old style. The stomach tube for horses is perhaps most 

 serviceable, because its wide lumen and smooth wall may permit the expulsion of 

 particles of food more easily than the older instruments. 



If immediate danger has been removed by one of the meth- 

 ods recommended, the animals must be kept under further ob- 

 servation so that a repeated accumulation of gases can be met 

 by proper means. 



Puncture of the rumen must be reserved for cases of pri- 

 mary meteorism after the other methods have failed and when 



