404 DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES. 



flammation. — " Having cleaned the wound," says Mr. Karkeek, " I closed 

 the opening with a strong suture of pack-thread, with a common packing 

 needle, taking in as much of the integuments and abdominal muscles as 

 possible. I then applied a pledget of tow, soaked in a solution of chloride 

 of lime, and supported the whole by means of a thick woollen bandage, 

 laced along the spine- I ordered the wound to be cleansed and the solu- 

 tion to be applied every morning, and her head to be tied to the rack, 

 to prevent her lying down. About five weeks afterwards, being in the 

 neighbourhood, I called to inquire after my patient, when to my surprise 

 I found her alive and well, the wound having completely healed. Had 

 this case happened nearer my residence, I should have endeavoured to 

 have instituted some experiments with regard to the process of digestion 

 on different kinds of food ; and this, I believe, might have been done 

 without endangering the life of the animal, as there was a copious dis- 

 charge of food for three weeks previous to my attending the mare." 



In case of Strangulation, the operator would, of course, 

 first proceed to the employment of the taxis, and use every 

 manual dexterity and other aids to render it effectual. 

 Should all his efforts fail, he must, by simple incision through 

 the skin, es^pose the hernia, and with his probe-pointed 

 bistoury incise the border of the constricting aperture, 

 making his incision in the direction in whicli the muscular 

 and tendinous fibres in the vicinity run, as is prudently 

 enjoined ])y D^Arboval. The gut returned, the wound in the 

 skin should be carefully closed by suture, and a compress 

 and roller, if practicable, kept applied over it. 



I shall close this division of my subject with the tran- 

 script of a case related in ' The Veterinarian' for 1839, by 

 Mr. Simonds, together with an account of an operation for it 

 which reflected the greatest credit upon him and the pro- 

 fessional gentlemen present with him on the occasion. 



The subject was an aged black mare, which was brought to Mr. 

 Simonds' infirmary October 18, 1837, with an old injury, received^ he 

 was told, from her fulling in the shafts of a loaded cart: — "The most 

 extensive rupture Mr. Simonds had ever seen presented itself on the left 

 side. The sac formed by the skin, which was not broken, not even the hair 

 rubbed off, extended as far forward as the cartilages of the false ribs, and 

 backwards to the mamraa3. A perpendicular line drawn from the superior 

 to the inferior part of the tumour measured more than twelve inches. 

 It appeared, from its immense weight and size, as if the larger part of 



