CHAPTER XV 



ENTERITIS : INFLAMMATION OF THE 



BOWELS 



Definition. — Colic resulting from a morbid condition of 

 the intestinal coats, manifested by extreme and con- 

 tinuous pain, and characterized by its rapid course and 

 great fatality. 



Regarded in the light of a simple inflammation, the 

 term ' enteritis ' is evidently a misnomer, so far as our 

 knowledge of equine cases leads us. The post-mortem 

 examination of the intestines tends more to point to the 

 fact of its being a general bacterial infection of the blood- 

 stream, commencing from the intestines. 



What draws us to this conclusion ? I can better lead 

 up to it by quoting at length from a paper by Mr. Cun- 

 ningham, of Slateford :^ 



' What is this inflammation,' he asks — ' this haemor- 

 rhagic inflammation of the bowels ? A favourite cob has 

 been working hard, he is laid off lame, and your man is 

 very kind to him, and at night you are suddenly sum- 

 moned to find that the cob that has carried you so long, 

 and which you know has never had a touch of colic in 

 his life, posting on in two short hours to its end. A 

 farmer buys a horse, young and cheap, in poor condition ; 



^ The Veterinarian, vol. lix., p. 45. 



