VOLVULUS. 337 



Under its administration the mouth will require watching. 

 The first sign of its entering the sj^stem will be tainted or 

 fetid breath; the next, reddening of the gums. There is 

 no need, in fact it is not prudent, to push the mercury to 

 salivation; indeed, it not unfrequently happens that before 

 the mercury can be traced coming, constitutionally, into 

 action, the disease is found giving way under its influence ; 

 when it is advisable altogether to discontinue its exhibition. 

 As for FOOD, the horse will take none; and even were he 

 so inclined, he should not be allowed any. He will, pro- 

 bably, drink; and he may, with advantage, be suffered to 

 drink as much gruel or white water, or even plain water 

 providing it be chilled, as he pleases : fluids will assist in 

 bringing on purgation. Let simple soap and water or gruel 

 clysters be frequently repeated. Also, repeat the embrocation 

 or blister to the belly, should it not be found taking efi*ect 

 in six or eight hours. 



VOLVULUS. 



Lengthy and loose and convoluted as the horse's intestinal 

 tube is, it need raise no wonder that portions of it, on occa- 

 sions, become twisted or entangled ; on account whereof 

 all passage through its canal is arrested. Some highly in- 

 structive cases of this description have appeared in ' The 

 Veterinarian :' indeed, enough of them have of late years 

 come to our knowledge, to convince us, that such mishaps 

 are of less rare occurrence than some twenty years ago we 

 seemed to have had any notion of. The case which, from 

 its comparative frequency, has attracted the most notice, is 

 that where a new-formed body growing from the mesentery 

 — commonly a globular adipose tumour — has, by means of 

 a long chordiform pedicle by which it is attached, wound 

 itself around a portion of ileum, doubled in a manner to 

 form a sort of knuckle, and so has strangled the intestine. 

 An instance of this occurred in my regimental practice in 

 1827. In 1829, the particulars of a similar one were 

 published in ^The Veterinarian' by Mr. W. Goodwin, 



II. 22 



