OPEN"IKG THE JUGULAR. 189 



of the tongue had been wounded, I deferred the cau- 

 terization of the alveolus till the following day. 



'•As to the swallowing of the tooth, I gave myself 

 very little concern. I did not think that so small a 

 body was likely to form any serious obstruction in the 

 intestinal canal, or that its temporary sojourn in the 

 large intestine could become at all dangerous; so I 

 merely directed that the mouth be frequently washed 

 with warm water, and forbade the use of hard food. 



"39th. I again saw the horse, and no serious con- 

 sequence had yet followed the operation. He ate bar- 

 leymeal mash with appetite, and a small quantity of 

 hay. Two hours afterward he was brought to the 

 School. He was very uneasy, and his belly was enor- 

 mously distended, the swelling being principally on 

 the right side, where the resonance was considerable 

 on percussion. The horse was continually endeavor- 

 ing to expel something from the anus, and the strain- 

 ing was so great that I feared the rectum would pro- 

 trude. The efforts were followed by small mucous 

 dejections, mixed with portions of food. The mucous 

 membrane was of a subdued red color. These symp- 

 toms had been preceded by swelling at the flanks; 

 colicky pains had followed, but they had ceased, 

 and nothing now remained except the enlargement of 

 the belly and the incessant effort to expel the faeces. 

 The artery was full, but the pulse was almost imper- 

 ceptible; the extremities were cold and the mucous 

 membranes of a red violet color. The nostrils were 

 convulsively dilated, respiration difficult and acceler- 

 ated, and the walk staggering; the skin was covered 

 with sweat, and, in a word, the animal presented every 

 symptom of immediate suffocation. On this account I 

 immediately opened the jugular and abstracted about 



