616 THE DISEASES AND DISOEDEES OF THE OX. 



pancreas, they are generally light coloured. After deaths 

 the tissues generally present an ansemic appearance, but the 

 lining membrane of the stomach and intestines is congested, and 

 may possibly show more important changes. On the other 

 hand, there may be merely the signs of an increased blood 

 supply to the intestinal mucous membrane, which may not 

 amount to congestion, and seldom can be called inflammatory. 



In the case of calves and lambs which have suflfered from? 

 diarrhoea while they are suckling, masses of coagulated milk are 

 found, which, being undigested, are a source of irritation, so 

 that, secretion from the intestines being aroused, and also mus- 

 cular action, they are expelled with some degree of energy. In 

 these cases the functions of the abomasum, the true digestive 

 stomach, are generally suspended, the secretions being out of 

 gear, and the tissues pale and wasted. A fatal issue may super- 

 vene owing to arrest of assimilation and the weakness which 

 results from the excessive nature of the discharges. 



In regard to the causation of this disorder, there is a great 

 deal to be said. As might be expected, any irritation of the 

 alimentary canal may bring on diarrhoea. Coarse food, acrid 

 plants, the rank herbage of marshy lands, sloppy grass, excess 

 of bran or linseed, the administration of purgatives, the change 

 from dry to green food, or other sudden changes in the dietary, or 

 in some cases, perhaps, mere excess of food, exposure to very cold 

 and inclement weather, whereby the excretory function of the 

 skin is arrested, so that the fluid, which under ordinary circum- 

 stances would Hscape through that channel, finds its way into the 

 intestines, extra work being also thrown upon these and other 

 internal organs — all these and other factors are to be borne in 

 mind. 



If there has been long-continued error in the dieting, or indi- 

 gestion for a considerable period, chronic diarrhoea is 6ften the 

 result. The disorder may arise from an excessive or a greatly 

 diminished flow of bile, and, according to some, it may be due to 

 disturbance of the functions of the spleen or pancreas. Again,, 

 the irritation set up by the presence of parasites in one or other 

 portion of the digestive canal may give rise to diarrhoea. This 

 is especially true of the strongyles found in the intestines of 

 calves and lambs. 



The complaint we are now considering, viz. diarrhoea, may 



