CHRONIC PERITONITIS. 481 



The lesions may appear more marked at a particular point, such as 

 the uterus, rumen, hypochondrium, etc., and the intestinal loops may- 

 become partly fixed in position by false membranes. In time these false 

 membranes may solidify and undergo transformation into fibrous tissue. 



Treatment. Treatment is generally useless in cases where perito- 

 nitis results from rupture of the bladder or intestine or from eventra- 

 tion. Complete and perfect cleansing of the infected abdominal cavity 

 is impossible in large animals. 



In other cases the animals should be left completely at rest, and 

 purgatives should be avoided. Movement or the administration of pur- 

 gatives provokes peristalsis, and, as a consequence, almost inevitably 

 leads to generalisation of a lesion which might otherwise have some 

 chance of remaining localised, as in pelvi- peritonitis and peritonitis due 

 to foreign bodies issuing from the rumen or reticulum. If the move- 

 ments of the intestinal loops disperse the septic liquids beyond the 

 points originally injured, the whole cavity becomes inoculated and 

 generalised peritonitis is set up. 



Emollient and diuretic drinks containing opium, and oatmeal or 

 linseed gruels, have the advantage of soothing the colic and preventing 

 stagnation in the bowel. These should be given from the first and solid 

 food entirely avoided. 



The sides of the abdomen should be mildly stimulated, provided the 

 operation does not give rise to undue pain and cause the animals to 

 struggle. Vesicants are preferable to mustard, though mixtures of 

 mustard and linseed meal may be used, and, if found advantageous, 

 can be repeated. 



Mercurial salts, though much used in earlier times, are now entirely 

 given up. Diuretics, such as bicarbonate of potash, nitrate of potash, 

 alcohol, and acetate of ammonia, should be used, according to cir- 

 cumstances. 



Aseptic washing-out of the peritoneal cavity would be advantageous, 

 but in large animals cannot easily be effected. 



CHRONIC PERITONITIS. 



Causation. Chronic peritonitis may occur as a termination of the 

 acute form, but it may also develop gradually as a result of disease of 

 the kidney (pyelo-nephritis), of the uterus or ovaries (chronic metritis, 

 tumour of the ovary), of the liver (suppurative echinococcosis), or of 

 any other lesion in neighbouring parts which is capable of setting up 

 continued irritation. 



It also accompanies tuberculosis of the peritoneum, cancer of the 

 peritoneum, chronic disease of the bladder, etc. Further, it appears, 



D.C. I I 



