ESOPHAGITIS 543 



noose slipped over the upper jaw. It has been my observation 

 that just about as much harm is done by the use of these local 

 applications as there is good. 



A stimulating Hniment containing camphor, ammonia, and 

 cotton-seed or sweet oil may be used with advantage over the 

 throat. The ordinary camphorated oil, as bought at the drug 

 stores, is an efficient remedy for use in this manner. 



Chlorate of potash added to the drinking-water, 2 to 3 table- 

 spoonfuls to the bucketful of water, will add to the comfort of 

 the animal and hasten recovery. In case abscesses form, they 

 should be opened and drained. 



Some cases of sore throat show a tendency to become chronic 

 in character. In these cases a great amount of benefit can be 

 obtained by the apphcation of a blistering ointment containing 

 1 dram of powdered cantharides in 1 ounce of vaselin. Another 

 very efficient blistering ointment can be made, containing 2 drams 

 of biniodid of mercury in 1 ounce of vaselin. Tincture of iodin is 

 another effective external application in either the acute or chronic 

 stages of the disease. 



In valuable animals, where death threatens from suffocation, 

 it may be desirable to have a tube inserted in the windpipe or 

 trachea. This operation is best performed by a skilled veterina- 

 rian, and is hardly an operation to be attempted by a layman. 



ESOPHAGITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE ESOPHAGUS) 



The esophagus or gullet is the tube which leads from the 

 pharynx to the stomach. It carries the food from the mouth to the 

 stomach, and is sometimes referred to as the food-pipe. The gullet 

 may be the seat of inflammation arising from much the same causes 

 as those just described for stomatitis and pharyngitis. 



Causes. — Among the more common causes for esophagitis, or 

 inflammation of the gullet, are the eating of foods while they are 

 very hot, or the swallowing of irritating chemical substances, 

 such as solutions of carbolic acid or bichlorid of mercury. Eating 

 of wheat and barley straw and other rough, irritating foods may 

 also result in an inflammation of the food-pipe. 



In many cases the disease is due to an extension of an inflam- 

 mation from the mouth and pharynx. The disease may follow 



