EXAMINATION OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS 33 



is placed on the chest wall and the thumb extends back of the curvature 

 of the ribs and is pressed in the region of the liver or the thumb can be 

 placed on the last rib and with the tips of the fingers the region of the 

 liver palpated. The usual position of the animal is to place it on its 

 side. The palpation of the liver is particularly easy in an animal having 

 very flabby abdominal w^alls, or where a collection of fluid, such as ascites, 

 has just been removed. Pain on pressure of the liver is seen in cases of 

 parenchymatous hepatitis, in hypersemia of the liver, and in early 

 stages of cirrhosis of the liver. In cases of carcinoma of the liver, large 

 uneven nodules are felt on palpation and in the latter stages of cirrhosis, 

 small uneven nodules are detected on the surface of the liver. The liver 

 is particularly firm and inelastic in cirrhosis, hyperaemia, and biliary 

 engorgement. Abscesses may be detected by fluctuation, but only when 

 they have attained a great size. 



The Spleen. 



The spleen is situated in the left hypochondriac region, is very diffi- 

 cult to examine through the abdominal wall. Certain definite swellings 

 or engorgements of the spleen may result from various affections of the 

 liver, lungs, and heart, from tumors in the region of the porta hepatica, 

 in various infectious diseases, such as distemper. When large splenitic 

 tumors are present, in fat animals they are almost impossible to detect; 

 in thin animals they are easily detected by palpation. Percussion in 

 such cases can also be made about the last two intercostal spaces at the 

 curvature of the ribs. 



The Pancreas. 



The pancreas, on account of its twisted right-angle position, makes 

 a direct examination almost impossible (Fig. 16); enlarged pancreas may 

 occur as a result of tumors, carcinoma or adenoma; they may be detected 

 by palpation in the region of the twelfth dorsal to the third lumbar 

 vertebra. But it is generally unsatisfactory, and a diagnosis is better 

 made of diseases of the pancreas by finding undigested food in the faeces 

 and the presence of sugar in the urine. 



