DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 679 



this be stopped, the contents of the rumen become hard and 

 unfit for regurgitation. In this way rumination is suspended, 

 and tympanitis induced. These observations have been con- 

 firmed by Colin, who also found that if the parotid ducts were 

 opened, and the secretion thus prevented from flowing into the 

 mouth, rumination became suspended. 



The act of vomition, rarely performed by the horse, occurring 

 only as a symptom of a grave lesion or disease, might be easily 

 performed by ruminants ; in fact the regurgitation of the food 

 during the act of rumination indicates this facility, but vomition 

 itself seldom occurs. 



It is not my purpose to enter into a physiological discussion 

 upon this matter, but merely to state that I am of opinion that 

 vomition is rendered difficult in the horse by folds of mucous 

 membrane at the cardiac orifice, and that, if from any cause, 

 such as inordinate distension or rupture of the stomach itself, 

 flaccidity, dilatation, or paralysis of the lower end of the oeso- 

 phagus — the rugse become unfolded, and the cardiac orifice 

 opened — that vomition can and does occur. The valve of 

 Gurlt, which is described by some authors as a spiral valve at 

 the cardiac opening of the stomach, has no existence. 



The true source of the rarity of the act in ruminants is, I 

 think, satisfactorily pointed out by Mr. J. S. Gamgee, and is 

 due to the fact that these animals are nauseated with great 

 difficulty. I have, however, witnessed very forcible vomition 

 in cattle suffering from indigestion, as well as the passive return 

 of food into the mouth, which occurs during the profound coma 

 of parturient apoplexy. Indeed, upon more than one occasion 

 such ingesta have found their way into the trachea and bronchial 

 tubes, and have caused a fatal pneumonia in two or three days 

 after recovery from the parturient disease. 



The dog, pig, and cat are easily nauseated by various remedies, 

 and vomit with great facility. 



Symptoms in the Ox and Sheep. — Tympanites is diagnosed by a 

 swelling on the left side, which may appear during the time the 

 animal is feeding, or shortly after ; the breathing is difficult and 

 laborious, becoming more so as the gas is generated and as the 

 swelling increases. The oppression of the breathing is mani- 

 fested by the general appearance of the animal ; there is expan- 

 sion of the nostrils, moaning during the expiratory movement, 



