EXAMINATION OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS 29 



septicaemia, or some irritant in the food; but it may also be caused by 

 a laxative independent of the catarrh. 



Constipation is common in all old dogs and in starved animals, in 

 animals weakened from exhausting diseases, in animals that have not 

 had sufficient exercise, or fed with constipating food, icterus, peritonitis, 

 in the onset of all diseases with rise of temperature, in the majority of 

 chronic affections of other organs, in all cases of obstruction of the bowels, 

 such as collections of dry faeces in the large intestines, atresia ani, from 

 large collections of internal parasites, tumors in the intestines or adjacent 

 structures, hypertrophy of the prostate gland, too much hair around 

 the anus, swelling of the anal glands, or from tumor of the anus. Animals 

 suffering from lumbago frequently do not attempt to defecate on ac- 

 count of the pain evacuation of the bowels causes them. 



Constipation alternated with diarrhoea is frequently a symptom 

 of chronic intestinal catarrh — due to twisting of those organs — or in- 

 vagination, hernia, foreign bodies, loss of the vermicular motion and 

 in all copious exudations from the peritoneum. Pain during evacua- 

 tion of the bowels (tenesmus) is seen in inflammation or obstruction of 

 the lower bowels and in inflammation or ulceration of the rectum, or 

 rheumatism of the abdominal muscles. Involuntary evacuation of the 

 bowels is seen in prolonged attacks of diarrhoea, paresis of the cord, 

 and when an animal is dying, from the presence of an abscess, from 

 enlargement of the prostate, from splinters of wood in the lower bowel, 

 or from enlargement of the rectal glands. 



The amount of excrement passed by an animal in a given time de- 

 pends on the quantity and quality of the food that the animal has taken. 

 A vegetable diet produces much more faeces than a meat diet. In an 

 ordinary sized dog fed on bread, the amount of faeces passed amounts to 

 20 per cent, of the amount eaten; but if the same animal is put on a meat 

 diet the amount of faeces is only about 12 per cent. (Ellenberger), In 

 diarrhoea the relative amount is changed, for in this condition the intes- 

 tinal juices secreted to aid digestion are not reabsorbed, but remain with 

 the faeces and are thrown out. 



After an obstinate constipation the amount of fluids is also greatly 

 increased, and with it there is also a very offensive odor, due to decom- 

 position of the faeces and to the various excrementary matters that have 

 remained in the bowels. 



The shape, size and color of the stools are a rather important matter 

 to consider. In normal health they are cylindrical in form, hard or soft, 

 according to the diet; in meat diet they are black or brownish- black and 

 of pitchy consistency. The faeces of sucking puppies resemble thick 

 green pea soup; these are rarely seen as the mother invariably licks them 

 up. Medicine changes the color of the faeces. Calomel and bismuth 



