DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 

 EXAMINATION OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



In making an examination of the digestive apparatus we have to 

 consider the following points: 



The appetite; the method of giving the food in different animals 

 varies very much, also is influenced to a large extent by the quality of 

 the food, the way in which it is presented to the animal. The age, the 

 use to which an animal is put, such as a hunting dog or the laboring dog 

 of Belgium and other European countries, the breed; size also has an 

 influence on the amount of food eaten by the animal and the quantity of 

 water it drinks. Some animals have a strong appetite, eat large quan- 

 tities, digest it well, whereas others are dainty eaters, eat small quanti- 

 ties, and are easily satisfied. 



A loss of appetite may result from a number of causes; mainly, from 

 the presence of a fever in the system, by disorder of the stomach and 

 digestive apparatus, lack of food, cold, chilliness, poisons, and in conse- 

 quence of such diseases as distemper, infectious hemorrhagic gastro- 

 enteritis and septicaemia. An abnormal increase of the appetite may be 

 seen in diabetes mellitus and by the presence of tape-worm. A depraved 

 appetite is seen in rabies, when the animal will eat straw, wood, stone, 

 I'ags, and faeces, but we must also take into consideration the fact that 

 young animals, particularly in puppies, when they are teething, between 

 the ages of four and ten months, will pick up small indigestible objects, 

 such as buttons, pieces of tape, muslin, coal, wood, etc. All dogs, par- 

 ticularly if the stomach is upset, will eat grass, and also in some cases they 

 show a depraved appetite by eating horse droppings or decayed objects, 

 and the well-known habit dogs have of chewing bones. When the animal 

 has great thirst, drinking large quantities of water, it may indicate 

 diabetes insipidus, and mellitus, chronic nephritis, dropsy (ascites), or 

 exudative pleuritis. As a result of acute and prolonged diarrhoea, 

 decayed meat poisoning, catarrh of the stomach and in cases of irritation 

 of the stomach, the animal drinks large quantities of water and immedi- 

 ately vomits it again. 



In certain diseases, particularly of the mouth and throat, such as 

 irritations of the mucous membrane of the mouth, stomatitis, decayed 



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