176 VETERINARY HOMCEOPATHY. 



is too often treated, by those who ought to know better, as though 

 it were a metal tube with neither sensibility nor susceptibility. 



INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION. 



The title explains itself; the intestinal tract consists of a tube of 

 variable size; the alimentary material has to pass along the wiiole 

 length — probably forty feet or more — of this tube, some of which 

 is withdrawn for nutrition and rebuilding of the system while the 

 remainder is passed on and evacuated as solid faecal matter. Dur- 

 ing the process an accumulation may easily be collected, either 

 through an unhealthy condition of the mucous membrane, to 

 which it adheres, or some other cause, and at this point the tube 

 becomes blocked up; an obstruction is established. Yet again, an 

 obstruction may be due to a displacement of the intestines, es- 

 pecially in tliose parts where they hang free and loose in the 

 margins of the mesenter}-; one of the most common and frequently 

 observed conditions of the intestines is a twist, in which the in- 

 testine becomes entangled in itself; another similar condition is 

 observed through the mesentery being torn (the mesentery is a 

 fibro-fatty membrane which is attached to the spine and to which 

 the intestines areslung) and a portion of the intestines passing 

 through the rent; in some mysterious manner the intestines form 

 a loop and get tied into a knot. Once more, one part of the in- 

 testines passes within that which is continuous with it; this is 

 known as intussusception or invagination. We shall presently 

 deal with the condition known as colic, but it may be as well to 

 state in passing that many cases which are considered in the first 

 instance to be merely colic ultimately turn out to be twist, in- 

 carceration or intussusception of some portion of the intestines, 

 while still another form of obstruction frequently met with is the 

 presence of a calculus (or stone), Avhich gets wedged into an open- 

 ing where a large portion of the tube suddenly merges into one 

 much smaller, as is the case when the double colon is continued 

 by the single colon, and this is a very favorite spot for large cal- 

 culi to become fixed and immovable. It will perhaps facilitate the 

 better understanding of the matter if a short explanation be given 

 how it is the alimentary material keeps moving along this tube; it 

 must be remembered the muscular coat of the intestines consists 

 of two layers; the outer layer consisting of fibres placed longitud- 



