366 Accumulation (^f Feces iu the Intestines. 



quently the end piece of the ileum during- or after one meal, rap- 

 idly become filled with coarse fibrous, dry feed (generally chaff). 

 Since the gastric contents in horses enter the small intestines 

 partly unchanged (Ellenberger), the feed mash, if insufficiently 

 broken up or if in a rather dry condition meets an impediment 

 at the ileo-cecal valve, occasionally^ even in front of second cur- 

 vature of the duodenum or in front of any curvature of the 

 jejunum. The development of obstipation in the large intestine 

 which is much wider, occurs, however, much more slowly.^ The 

 retardation of peristalsis, the firmer consistenc}^ of the intes- 

 tinal contents, the greater mass of the intestinal contents, cause 

 an increasing delay of their transport and they become more 

 and more desiccated. The appetite of the animals has not suf- 

 fered in the mean time, and larger and larger masses accumu- 

 late in the affected portions of the large intestines. 



Sudden or rapidly occurring closure of the small intes- 

 tines, with subsequent* stretching of the intestinal wall by the 

 accumulated masses of feces, stimulate the occluded portion and 

 those anterior to it to convulsive contractions which produce 

 colicky pains. The contractility of the muscularis of the large 

 intestine, however, diminishes from the start only very grad- 

 ually since the accumulation and the closure are brought about 

 very gradually, in the course of several daj^s. Convulsive con- 

 tractions and colicky pains, therefore, do not occur or only very 

 moderately, and they are generally localized at a point in front 

 of the obstipation. The dilatation of the filled portion of intes- 

 tines, however, produces a disagreeable feeling of tension or 

 fullness in the abdomen, which in combination with the absorp- 

 tion of intestinal poisons causes an intoxication which in its 

 turn produces dullness of the sensorium. An exception is pre- 

 sented by those rare cases where obstipation in combination 

 with a change of feed will produce lively gas formation in front 

 of the closed portion, especially in the cecum. Then the irri- 

 tating gases will produce strong convulsive contractions of the 

 muscularis. 



According to whether the transportation of accumulated 

 feces is stopped suddenly or within a short time, or whether as 

 in obstipation of the large intestines, the cessation occurs very 

 gradually, contractions of intestines behind the obstructed por- 

 tion cease after a few hours or only after several days, then 

 the periodical filling of the rectum likewise ceases. An excep- 

 tion to this rule sometimes occurs in obstipation of the cecum 

 in those cases where the desiccated fecal masses do not reach 

 up to the cecal-colonic juncture and where the contents of the 

 head of the cecum can be pressed partially into the colon. 



The dried masses of feces may subsequently cause ne- 

 crosis of the epithelial covering of the mucosa, and may in 

 this manner lead to enteritis, or even to rupture of the wall of 

 the gut. The decomposition of the thin-fluid feces accumulat- 

 ing in front of the point of obstruction in the course of time 



