146 VETERINARY LECTURES 



fully and not in a hurry, especially if the animal resists. Should 

 there be a quantity of gas in the stomach and the patient much 

 swollen it may die a mechanical death, owing to the pressure of the 

 gas on the diaphragm, the lungs, and heart, before it can be relieved. 

 If there is any likelihood of this happening, the stomach must be 

 punctured so as to liberate the gas. This may be done with a trocar 

 and cannula (Plate LIV., Fig. 6), or, in extreme cases, even with a 

 knife, by plunging it into the stomach half-way between the last rib 

 and the haunch bone on the left side, then turning it crosswise, 

 when the gas will rush out. A little treacle and brown paper placed 

 over the opening in the side as soon as the knife is withdrawn is all 

 that is required for the wound made, and it is seldom that any bad 

 effects follow. I have met with cases where the offending body has 

 dropped into the stomach after the pressure of the gas was 

 removed. 



241. The CEsophagus, or Gullet, is subject to injuries and 

 derangements : the former may be caused by pins, needles, thorns, 

 and other foreign bodies ; the latter by strictures, dilatation, or the 

 formation of tubercular growths. All these have a tendency, par- 

 ticularly in the cow, to cause periodical swellings (lioven) on the left 

 side similar to that seen in choking. Stricture is a contraction of 

 the muscular walls of the gullet, and is sometimes met with in the 

 horse and cow. Dilatation, or distension of the gullet, also occa- 

 sionally affects these two animals, and may be due to paralysis of 

 the muscular coat. In some cases of dilatation a pouch or pocket is 

 formed, and known as * diverticula,' and is a very serious form. All 

 the above produce analogous symptoms to those of choking, and are 

 very difficult to diagnose, while treatment is very unsatisfactory ; 

 the probang or turnip-rope may, however, be passed occasionally. 



242. Derangement of the Stomach of the horse arises from 

 many causes, such as injudicious feeding or overfeeding with too 

 much badly-cooked food, as, for example, boiled wheat and barley, 

 neither of which should be left to cool and then warmed up again — 

 a common and very dangerous practice with many — as it turns sour 

 and ferments. Wheat and barley should always be used newly 



