DISEASES OF THE BOWELS. 695 



tail against any solid object, to resist by violent straining the 

 introduction of the hand and enemas into the rectum. In some 

 cases the hard and impacted mass may be felt by the hand 

 introduced into the rectum, and there is also some enlargement 

 or distension of the abdomen. The propriety of administering 

 cathartics by the mouth for the relief of this condition 

 is a question of very great importance, for it has often 

 happened that rupture of the colon has occurred in the 

 course of some hours — generally about twenty — after the 

 administration of an aloetic ball, the condition of the intestinal 

 canal, when examined post mortem, having been found as 

 follows : — The stomach and small intestines more or less emptied 

 of alimentary matters, or containing large quantities of Huid ; 

 the large intestines distended with a mass of more or less 

 hardened material, or partly hard and partly soft ; the mucous 

 membrane sometimes highly congested, sometimes pallid, but 

 ruptured, and the contents more or less escaped, as in ruptured 

 stomach, into the peritoneal cavity. I have repeatedly wit- 

 nessed this, and the question has arisen in my mind whether 

 the rupture has not been induced by the contents of the small 

 intestines having been forced into the already over-burdened 

 large ones by the action of the purgative. Concluding that this 

 was the case, I have injected aloetic solutions into the rectum, 

 and endeavoured to excite the commencement of purgation in 

 the large intestines. In some instances this has succeeded, 

 whilst in others it has failed ; the failure has been due to the 

 expulsion of the medicine by the animal. I have found it the 

 best method to dissolve two ounces of aloes in a pint of hot 

 water, and to administer it with a syringe having a long flexible 

 tube, at a temperature of about 90° F. If this be retained for 

 an hour or two, it generally has some effect, but if immediately 

 expelled, it ought to be repeated. I am well aware that writers 

 on materia medica will say that the specific action of aloes is 

 limited to the large intestines and rectum, no matter how it 

 gains entrance into the economy, and that this result will be 

 obtained by its administration by the mouth. My experience 

 leads me to tlie conclusion that, although it may irritate the 

 posterior bowel during its exit from the body, its priinary effect 

 is to stimulate the peristaltic action and glandular secretion of 

 that part of the intestines with which it first comes in contact. 

 Rupture of the colon from impaction, or when resulting from 



