34 COLICS AND THEIR TREATMENT 



3. — True Flatulency. — Flatulent colic or the evo- 

 lution of gas within the intestinal canal, not necessarily 

 confined to any one particular locality, is usually char- 

 acterized by rotundity of the abdomen, more especially 

 at the flanks. Tinkling sounds replace the absent peri- 

 staltic murmurs ; the pain is distressing but varying with 

 the tenseness of walls; breathing is labored and cyanosis 

 ensues if not relieved. Flatus escapes from the anus in 

 blasts in contradistinction to the previously described 

 interrupted sounds accompanying obstruction. 



Rectal exploration and flank or intra-rectal tapping es- 

 tablishes the diagnosis if it is not otherwise determined 

 through history and symptoms. 



Spasmodic Colic 



Long before any attempt was made to classify true 

 colics; either through etiologic or pathologic means, 

 practitioners of equine medicine recognized symptomat- 

 ically two forms of intestinal pain, viz. : flatulent and 

 spasmodic. After having come to a more lucid under- 

 standing of the varieties of colic and though inclined 

 to place less stress upon the distinction ''spasmodic," we 

 must yet admit the occurrence of large numbers of cases 

 unassociated with either impaction, obstruction or gas 

 accumulation, and, moreover, that cannot be correctly 

 attributed to intestinal parasites or mesenteric aneurism. 

 These conditions are probably the result of temporary 

 derangement of the sensory nerves producing irregular 

 peristalsis through stimulation of certain areas of the 

 unstriated muscular coats of the intestinal viscera, par- 

 ticularly within the small intestines. 



