THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 209 



in the intestines ; it also increases the peristaltic action of the 

 bowels. 



317. The liver is the largest organ of the body, but, while 

 frequently the subject of a great amount of disease and disorder in 

 human beings, it is, happily, not nearly so subject to derangements 

 in the domestic animals. Like all other parts of the body, it is 

 liable to inflammation. The symptoms are not very well defined, 

 and diagnosis has to be arrived at by negative results. Such cases 

 should always, therefore, be entrusted to professional care. Occa- 

 sionally, on making a post-mortem, enormously enlarged livers are 

 found, both in horses and cattle, which ailments the animals, 

 when alive, gave no indications of. Sometimes, however, these 

 enlarged, or hypertrophied, livers are accompanied in the horse by 

 dropsical swelling of the legs and shortness of breath ; while in 

 cattle the brisket, under side of the neck, and lower jaw become filled 

 with a watery effusion. This latter symptom is also seen in trau- 

 matic heart disease in cattle. When cattle are heavily stall-fed with 

 fancy foods, too highly seasoned with aromatic flavouring, and con- 

 taining an excess of amylaceous matter, such as damaged rice, starch, 

 sugar, etc., or where there is a preponderance of carbonaceous over 

 nitrogenous principles — in other words, a badly balanced food — the 

 liver is apt to undergo fatty degeneration or fatty infiltration. In the 

 former the liver cells become changed into material of a fatty nature, 

 while in the latter fatty globules are deposited in the cells. These 

 cases may be subacute or chronic. Symptoms.— The, animal refuses its 

 food, drinks large quantities of water, and soon becomes greatly 

 emaciated, but rarely hide-bound (although the hair looks staring and 

 on end), and is affected with a lead-coloured, exhaustive, and stinking 

 diarrhoea. Treatment is very unsatisfactory, a fatal termination 

 usually supervening. Chloride or bromide of ammonia, with carbon- 

 ate of soda, -| ounce each, night and morning, may, however, be tried. 

 The liver is liable also to rupture. This may be occasioned by 

 engorgement and congestion of the portal vein, but in the horse it is 

 more often due to the effects of falling in jumping. As a rule it 

 proves fatal. In these cases the mucous membranes become pale 



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