DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 161 



h. The chemical reaction of the feces has no particular 

 diagnostic value. Horse dung, as a rule, has an acid reaction, 

 a result of the decomposition processes going on in the large 

 intestine. In digestive disorders and intestinal catarrhs the 

 acidity is often increased. 



i. Composition of the feces. The composition of the 

 feces as far as food particles and foreign substances are con- 

 cerned demands careful consideration. In the first place the 

 size of the undigested food particles must be considered, this 

 indicates the degree of mastication or rumination to whi^' 



Fig-. 39. 

 Eggs of Distomum hepaticum in dung- of sheep. 



they were subjected. In cattle the feces should consist of a 

 homogeneous mass; coarse particles of food always indicate 

 insufficient or faulty rumination: overloading of paunch, 

 paralysis or inactivity resulting from inflammatory afifections 

 are the cause of the latter. In horses, on the other hand, 

 coarse undigested particles of food occur normally in the 

 dung, and faulty mastication is not indicated unless the coarse 



