262 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



distinguishing element in the case should have been (my 

 colleagues and I each failed in diagnosis) that the constric- 

 tion was not in the rectal wall but was due to an investing 

 cord outside the intestine. The history aids in diagnosis. 

 True stricture usually develops gradually, and commonly 

 has a history of prior injury. Perirectal abscesses or tu- 

 mors develop slowly, and the symptoms of colic come on 

 gradually. Ovarian and parovarian pedunculated tumors 

 cause no clinical manifestations until some accidental dis- 

 placement of the tumor causes a sudden incarceration of the 

 intestine by the tumor peduncle and violent colic quickly 

 ensues. 



In the diagnosis of this type of intestinal incarceration, 

 it is not essential that the histologic character be deter- 

 mined. It is of little surgical consequence, for the moment, 

 whether the tumor be ovarian or par-ovarian, cystic or 

 solid. It calls for prompt relief by surgical means. 



These tumors attain a diameter of four to twelve or more 

 inches. Owing to their weight they drop forward and 

 downward in the abdomen and their attachments become 

 greatly elongated. They consist of a single cyst, generally 

 showing traces of ovarian tissue, flattened out on one side 

 of the spherical cyst. I have seen one in a mare presented 

 in my clinic because of recurrent severe colics. Rectal ex- 

 amination revealed an ovarian tumor, regular in outline, 

 about ten inches in diameter. Its cystic character was as- 

 sumed, but could not be definitely ascertained. The ovary 

 (left) was successfully removed through an incision in the 

 left flank by my colleague, Frost, and myself. The cyst was 

 punctured with a trocar after it had been brought into the 

 laparotomy wound. This permitted it to be removed 

 through a moderate-sized opening. Similar ovarian cysts 

 occur in the cow, but so far as known do not so frequently 

 incarcerate the intestines. They have the general clinical 

 importance of benign ovarian tumors and demand surgical 

 removal merely because of their physical menace to the 

 health and life of the patient. Since they tend to cause in- 

 creased size of the ovarian artery care is necessary in their 



