278 Foreign Bodies in the Fore-stoiiiaclis. 



The pointed, long and smooth foreign bodies frequently 

 penetrate from their first place of perforation into other organs, 

 most frequently towards the heart, more rarely towards the 

 lungs, liver, spleen, muscles of the thigh ; there are then formed 

 cicatricial bands leading to the reticulum, which may be inter- 

 rupted by abscesses. In those very rare cases where a foreign 

 body has made its way to the outside world, there is formed 

 a thick-walled fistulous tract leading from the region of the 

 ensiform cartilage to the reticulum. 



Foreign bodies are rarely found in the omasum or aboma- 

 sum ; they get there from the reticulum and sometimes leave the 

 body through the intestines. Exceptionally a foreign body may 

 travel over another route and penetrate through the left 

 hypochondriac region, through the flank, or through the muscles 

 of the hind leg; the road traveled is then also indicated by 

 cicatricial tissue or by a fistulous tract. 



Small hemorrhages at the site of the injury are common 

 and the grayish discoloration in the newly formed connective 

 tissue is due to these extravasations. Exceptionally internal 

 hemorrhage may be noticed (Eggeling, Brauer, Harms, Holter- 

 bach), then the reticulum and the next sections of the stomach, 

 also the intestines contain blood coagula. Sometimes we en- 

 counter purulent ichorous peritonitis or pleuritis in consequence 

 of the breaking of an al)scess in the neighborhood of the 

 reticulum. General purulent or sero-fibrinous peritonitis may 

 also be developed if the gastric wall lias been perforated with- 

 out the prior formation of sufficient preliminary agglutination 

 or adhesion ; in such cases bacteria enter the peritoneal cavity 

 from the reticulum. Sometimes we find on post-mortem metas- 

 tatic foci in the internal organs. 



Symptoms. Blunt foreign bodies sometimes produce an 

 atony of the fore-stomachs (chronic dyspepsia) which cannot 

 be distinguished from other forms of gastric atony and which 

 therefore can only be diagnosticated if the history of the case 

 furnishes some data. After the ingestion of sand (socalled 

 " Magenversaiiduug") or gravel, there are also present sj^np- 

 toms of chronic gastric atony (see page 26S), and in some 

 cases the wall of the rumen feels as hard as a rock; the sick 

 animals constantly make empty masticatory movements, saliva 

 dribbles from the mouth, the back is curved and a painful 

 groaning is frequently heard (Krichels). The feces sometimes 

 contain sand. In cases of sand in the rumen Wuclier saw a 

 paresis similar to parturient paresis of cows. In severe cases 

 the disease leads to exhaustion and sometimes ends fatally 

 after two to three weeks, but it often lasts for months. 



The sudden stoppage of the openings between the fore- 

 stomachs or the pylorus by foreign bodies, especially hair or 

 food balls, occasionally occurs in calves and lambs and excep- 

 tionally in adult cattle. Such stoppage causes bloating which 



