276 Foreign Bodies in the Fore-stomachs. 



ai-(' most froqnently eiieonntererl in tlie stomaclis of adult 

 cattle, sometimes also in calves and lanihs. Eatino- of wool 

 particnlarly, as well as itching- diseases of the skin, give rise 

 to the formation of hairballs. In lambs fed with cakes of 

 unshelled cotton seed or with very woody beets, feedballs are 

 formed by the nndigested residnes which are similar to hair- 

 balls (Monssn). Foodballs are commonly found in the abomasmn. 



In the stomach of a still-born calf Schell found several hairballs up to the 

 size of a chestnut; Megnin found hairballs the size of a fist in an eighteen-day-old 

 calf. 



Pathogenesis. Blunt foreign bodies only rarely lead to bad 

 consequences for the animals ; but these occur when the foreign 

 bodies are pressed into the communications between the sections 

 of the stomach and intestines or into the pylorus; or when 

 they are as large as a nut, so that they prevent free communica- 

 tion between the fore-stomachs or between abomasum and intes- 

 tines, or if they prevent the motions of the fore-stomachs. In all 

 these cases the removal of the feed-mash and of the gases suffers 

 more or less and the muscles of the fore-stomachs become 

 sluggish (see page 265), Pressure exerted upon the wall of 

 the stomachs by heavy foreign bodies may bring about 

 nutritive disturbances on the parts of the affected wall, and 

 finally inflammation which may spread to the peritoneum. 



The effect of sharp or pointed bodies depends upon their 

 nature, form and length and also upon their location in the 

 stomachs. Larger foreign bodies are, in general, less dan- 

 gerous than smaller ones, because they do not so easily 

 get from the rumen into the reticulum and may remain for 

 a long time embedded in the feed-mash in the rumen without 

 producing any evil effect. (Bergmann found a kitchen knife 

 in the rumen which had been there three months without causing 

 any damage.) 



Foreign bodies, as a rule, become wedged into the wall of 

 the comparatively small but vigorously contracting reticulum, 

 while the rumen, the omasum and the abomasum are rarelj^ in- 

 jured. Pointed bodies of inconsiderable length (nails, pieces 

 of wire, hairpins), particularly if provided with a head or 

 bent over, get more or less deeply into the wall of the stomach, 

 but they do not penetrate further. However, long and pointed 

 bodies, smooth along their whole extent (such as long nails 

 or pieces of wire, darning, embroidery, suturing or tobacco 

 needles) will be transported not only to neighboring, but even 

 to distant organs by the contractions of the stomachs and 

 the diaphragm and by the abdominal pressure (especially 

 during parturition and during restraint before an operation) 

 or by pressure of the uterus if this is well along in gestation. 

 Since perforation usually occurs in that part of the wall of 

 the omasum which is directed towards the diaphragm, these 

 foreign bodies usually penetrate in the direction of the 

 diaphragm or heart. 



