THE HORSE IN SICKNESS AND DISEASE 355 



one that happens and rights itself again without any 

 knowledge on the part of the person in whom it occurs. 



The Sym'ptoms. — Internal stricture and strangulation of 

 intestine are, in general, violent to a degree, though the 

 same in kind as result from colic, or rather enteritis. The 

 poor sufferer paws, and lies down, and rolls, and looks at 

 his flank, and pants, in horrible agony ; his belly becomes 

 tympanitic, tense, and enlarged ; and his pulse is quick and 

 small, 70 or 80, but not thready. For the first three or 

 four hours all that we do appears of no avail. Afterwards 

 a calm takes place, and we are apt to think our remedies 

 have worked it ; if, however, we again examine the pulse, 

 we shall find our patient evidently sinking, perhaps, at the 

 time, all over in a tremor and cold sweat. This deceitful 

 calm is nothing but the too certain precursor of mortifica- 

 tion. The animal commonly dies in convulsions. 



RUPTURE (hernia). 



We shall here confine ourselves to a displacement of the 

 intestines from the abdominal cavity, either through some 

 of the natural openings, or through artificial ones, as the 

 effect of accident. 



The places where these protrusions commonly take place 

 in the horse are the groin, the navel, the sides of the belly, 

 and the diaphragm. It is these differences in situation that 

 constitute the different sorts of hernia : that protruding 

 at the groin, called inguinal ; the same extending through 

 the canal and descending into the scrotum, called scrotal ; 

 that at the navel, umbilical ; that apparent upon any part 

 of the belly (the navel excepted), ventral; the one passing 

 through the diaphragm, diaphragmatic. 



The parts protruded in hernia are commonly either the 

 intestines or the omentum, or both. Every viscus, however, 

 even the thoracic and cerebral, is liable to hernia. 



Hernia is again divided into reducible, irreducible, and 

 strangulated. When the contents of the tumour admit of 

 being returned into the abdomen, the hernia is said to be a 

 " reducible " one ; when, either in consequence of their 

 bulkiness, or their adhesion to the sac containing them, or 

 to each other, that is found impracticable, the hernia 

 becomes an " irreducible " one. Should there be constric- 

 tion at the mouth or contracted part of the sac, which in 



