174 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



tained. When the flatulence is confined to the intes- 

 tine, there will, of course, be an entire absence of such 

 symptoms as I have put down as diagnostic of gastric 

 tympany. The regurgitations of the oesophagus, the 

 attempts at vomition, the trickling ingesta from the 

 nostrils, and the gurgling noises in the region of the 

 trachea, are all wanting. Should there be doubt, which I 

 do not for a moment think possible, a rectal examination 

 will soon dispel it. 



Prognosis. — Unless it be a concomitant of some more 

 serious condition, a favourable verdict may usually be 

 indulged in — that is, if the case is seen early. It is well, 

 how^ever, to hold back one's prognosis of these cases 

 until the operation of puncturing the bowel has been 

 performed and its results noticed. The extreme pain, 

 the suffocating pressure of the distended intestines upon 

 the diaphragm, and the semi-intoxication induced by the 

 absorbtion of the gases, all tend to mask the significance 

 of the pulse and other symptoms. Once the greater part 

 of this is relieved by the trocar, the veterinary attendant 

 is in a far better position to give a correct forecast. If, 

 after this operation is performed, the pulse still con- 

 tinues a running down character, and the symptoms 

 of pain do not abate, the case is to be regarded as 

 serious. 



Treatment. — Taking the remedial measures in the order 

 of their importance, I think prior place should be given 

 to surgical interference. Considering its value and com- 

 parative simplicity, it is surprising that the operation of 

 puncturing the bowel — technically known as ' entero- 

 centesis ' — should ha\'e fallen into the desuetude it did. 

 From almost the earliest times of which we have any 

 record it has been recommended by first one writer and 

 then the other. Vegetius, in the fourth century, advises 



