248 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



fig. 3), being held surroiindecl by its three limbs. Before extraction 

 is attempted an ounce of almond oil, previously boiled, should be 

 injected into the teat. 



TEAT BLOCKED BY CALCULUS. 



A\lien the calcareous matter of the milk has been precipitated in 

 the form of a smooth, rounded stone, a rough conglomerated concre- 

 tion, or a fine, sandlike debris, it may cause obstruction and irrita- 

 tion. These bodies are felt to be much harder than those formed by 

 casein, and the milk usually contains gritty particles. Extraction 

 may be attempted by simple milking in the case of the finely divided 

 gritty matter, or Avith the spring dilator (PI. XXIV, fig. 3) in the case 

 of the larger masses. Should this fail the teat may be laid open with 

 the knife and sewed up again or closed with collodion, but such an 

 operation is best deferred until the cow is dry. 



TEAT BIX)CKED BY A AVARTY OR OTHER GROWTH INSIDE. 



In this case the obstruction may be near the orifice of the teat or 

 higher up, and the solid mass is not movable up and down with the 

 same freedom as are concretions and calculi. The movement is lim- 

 ited by the elasticity of the inner membrane of the teat from which it 

 grows, and is somewhat freer in certain cases because the groAvth has 

 become loose and hangs by a narrow neck. In the case of the looser 

 growths they may be snared by a fine spring wire passed as a loop 

 through a fine tube (like a teat tube open at each end) and introduced 

 into the teat. AMien this can not be done, the only resort is to cut 

 in and excise it while the cow is dry. 



THICKENING OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE AND CLOSURE OF THE MILK 



DUCT. 



As a result of inflammation extending from without inward, a 

 gradual narrowing of the milk duct may occur from thickening and 

 narrowing of its lining membrane. This may be limited to a small 

 area near the lower end, or it may extend through the whole length 

 of the teat. The stream of milk becomes finer and finer until it 

 finally ceases altogether, and a firm cord is felt running through the 

 teat. If the constriction is only at the outlet, the teat may be seized 

 and distended by pressing the milk down into it from above, and an 

 incision may be made w^ith a sharp penknife in two directions at right 

 angles to each other and directly in the original opening. The knife 

 should be first cleansed in boiling water. The opening may be kept 

 from closing by a dumb-bell shaped bougie of gutta-percha (PI. 



