DISEASES OF THE BOWELS. 693 



with a stimulant such as carbonate of ammonia, spirit of nitrous 

 ether, or with oil of turpentine ; others prefer tincture of opium ; 

 others belladonna or tincture of aconite, Indian hemp, chloral 

 hydrate, and other fancied anodyne or stimulating drugs. For 

 my own part, I now prefer linseed oil with tincture of opium 

 and spirit of nitrous ether, followed, if necessary, by sodium 

 hyposulphite, one or two ounces dissolved in water, at intervals 

 of three or four hours, with an occasional enema of warm 

 water. All cases of towel affections should he examined per anum 

 at the commencement of the attach, as there is a possibility of 

 detecting and removing a cause lodged in the rectum. The 

 enema tube should consist of guttapercha piping at least four 

 feet long, with a rounded nozzle, and introduced by gentle^not 

 forcible — pressure as far as possible into the bowel. If the 

 urinary bladder be distended, pressure from the rectum with the 

 palm of the hand will often assist the act of urination ; if this 

 be insufficient, relief must be given by means of the catheter. 



In many parts of the country colic is looked upon as a disorder 

 of the urinary organs by non-professional people, and from the 

 fact that the first sign of recovery is often the act of urination, 

 countenance is given to this opinion. There is doubtless a 

 spasmodic contraction of the constrictor vesicae in the majority of 

 colic cases ; and relaxation of this spasm is a concomitant of 

 that of the intestines ; hence rapid recovery generally takes 

 place after the act of micturition. 



When the contents of the bowels are found by rectal examina- 

 tion to be hard, an attempt should be made by manipulation or 

 kneading with the hand in the rectum to break down the 

 impacting masses, and thus assist the bowels to resume the 

 peristaltic action. 



In conclusion, it may be stated that if the attack be a very 

 slight one, a single dose of the opiate will often give permanent 

 relief. There is one thing that I should warn the practitioner 

 about, and that is, no certain dej^endence can be placed upon 

 this, and that in all cases where the animal cannot be watclied 

 for some time afterwards the aperient is not to be omitted ; 

 and upon no account is a horse attacked late at night, and thus 

 relieved, to be left without the aperient being administered, for 

 it has often happened that when all are asleep in bed the pains 

 have returned, and the horse in the morning found dying or dead. 



