DIGESTIVE APPARATUS 63 



rubber tubing, except that the esophagus is composed of mus- 

 cular tissue lined with mucous membrane. He should also see 

 it as a tube that is liable to choke on dry oats or a piece of 

 potato. The stomach should be seen as a hollow organ that may 

 become inflamed or filled with a mass of rapidly fermenting 

 food in a case of bloat. The intestine should be seen as a long, 

 soft tube, built up of the same three layers as the stomach, but 

 very long, much folded, and delicate of structure and as an 

 organ in which may occur an inflammation (enteritis) or an 

 impaction of dry contents and stoppage. The whole intestine 

 should be regarded as a very long tube lined with a sheet of 

 mucous membrane for the production of digestive fluids and 

 for the absorption of nutrients. 



Diseases of the digestive organs are numerous. Many are pre- 

 ventable. Some of these diseases are easily recognized and, in 

 the absence of veterinary help, may be fairly well treated by 

 the stockman, e.g., bloat in cattle and sheep and canker sore 

 mouth in young pigs. See later chapters. 



