DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 323 



cells of the colon, until the horse is disposed to evacuate 

 them by the contraction of the proper muscles. In a horse 

 of medium size, the large intestines will hold, altogether, 

 about nineteen gallons. 



FLATULENT COLIC. 



This disease has its location in either the caecum or the 

 colon, or sometimes in both. The colon is the part most 

 violently affected. 



It may be excited, in great part at least, by sympathy with 

 a diseased state of the stomach and small intestines, which 

 can not be much inflamed without affecting the whole line 

 of the alimentary canal. But its most frequent cause is un- 

 doubtedly what may be termed stricture of the rectum — con- 

 traction of the rectum upon the hard masses of excrement 

 with such force that the passage even of gases becomes im- 

 possible. If such a stricture did not occur somewhere, there 

 could be no flatulent colic, of course, since all the gases 

 usually generated would very readily escape in the natural 

 way. 



We have seen how common it is for these foul gases to 

 be evolved during digestive disturbances in the stomach and 

 small bowels. There may be fermentation of the contents 

 of the csecum and colon, producing the same results; and, 

 usually, the difiiculty is greatly aggravated by the accumu- 

 lations of gas pressing downward from the stomach and the 

 small intestines intervening. 



Flatulent colic evidences pre-existent inflammation in some 

 part of the alimentary tube, or, at least, great unnatural heat, 

 which generates the noxious gases. These distend the colon, 

 and then, one part of the net being drawn out, the other part 

 draws in ; in other words, when the colon is greatly distended, 

 there is a corresponding contraction at the throat of the rec- 

 tum, and there the hard masses of excrement become so firmly 

 impacted that it often requires a considerable manual exertion 

 to dislodge them. Such a condition is not likely to occur ex- 

 cept when the stomach has been gorged with immoderate 



