THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 239 



HERNIA, OR RUPTURES. 



Hernia signifies rupture, or unnatural protrusion of a por- 

 tion of the intestines or the omentum. 



In consequence of the rough encounters which horned crea- 

 tures frequently engage in, they are liable to suffer from the 

 consequences of external violence, and a pregnant cow with a 

 distended abdomen is more apt to be injured- in this way than 

 the male. Still an accident of this kind will occasionally oc- 

 cur without the intervention of external injuries, for the cow 

 is often the subject of dropsy of the womb, and in such condi- 

 tion the abdomen is distended to an enormous capacity. The 

 only thing that can be done in a case of this character, is to 

 rupture the foetal membranes by means of a blunt instrument, 

 introduced through the neck of the uterus ; this will not only 

 evacuate the fluid,- but also bring on premature labor, and thus 

 the lives of both mother and calf may be saved, provided, how- 

 ever, the calf be full grown. 



FORMS OF RUPTURE. 



' There are various forms of rupture ; a calf is occasionally 

 born with a tumor or enlargement in the region of the navel ; 

 this is known as congenital umbilical hernia. It is termed 

 congenital in consequence of being present at birth, and umbil' 

 ical because it is found in the umbilical region. This form of 

 hernia is not a very serious matter and very rarely requires an 

 operation ; my usual course is to apply some cotton batting, 

 wet with an astringent (infusion of bayberry bark), and over 

 the same a bandage, which must be passed twice around the 

 body ; yet if the part is bathed occasionally with infusion of 

 bayberry, the bandage and batting can be dispensed with. 



The reason why a case of this kind is not a serious affair, is 

 because there is no rupture of the walls of the abdomen, but a 

 mere purse or dilated state of the common integuments exists, 

 which if necessary can be sloughed off by the application of a 

 common pair of clams. 



