SPASMODIC COLIC. 395 



faeces, sometimes of a hard character, in other cases more 

 or less diarrhcjea is present ; and when diarrhwa is observed 

 in connection with an aggravated case of colic it is to be 

 regarded as a bad sign, inasmuch as it indicates that the 

 case has a strong tendency to terminate in enteritis. As a 

 rule, the ears and legs remain warm, but may be cold in 

 some cases, particularly when the animal has been sweating 

 freely. An attack of colic may last from fifteen minutes 

 to twelve or fifteen hours. However, in the latter case it 

 must be a very mild attack, or the animal would not l)e 

 able to survive for that lens-th of time. Sometimes a 

 case of enteritis may be mistaken for an attack of colic, the 

 symptoms being very much alike. It is a matter of great 

 importance that no such mistake be made ; hence the 

 practitioner should be thoroughly acquainted with the 

 symptoms of each disease, in which case there will be no 

 trouble in discriminating between the two. In colic the 

 eye is usually bright and clear, and the limbs and ears of a 

 normal temperature ; Avhile in enteritis the eye is dull, and 

 usually bloodshot, while the ears and extremities are deathly 

 cold. In colic the paroxysms of pain alternate with in- 

 tervals of rest and absolute freedom from pain ; while in a 

 case of enteritis the pain is continuous, there being no 

 intervals of ease, although the pain may be greater at one 

 time than at another. In colic the pulse is normal, or 

 nearly so, except when the animal is seized with a 

 paroxysm. In enteritis the pulse runs up higher than in a 

 case of colic, is hard and wiry, and steadily maintains that 

 character, and pressure upon the abdomen calls forth an 

 expression of pain ; while in colic the relief afforded by 

 similar pressure is evident to almost anyone. He also lies 

 down and gets up more carefully when suffering from en- 

 teritis than he does when he is suffering from colic. In 

 cases of colic that recover, the paroxysms become shorter 



