162 CHOKING. 



struction. The violent cough, contractions of the muscles of 

 the neck and abdomen, with expulsion of faeces and even 

 urine, are very marked in bad forms of choking in cattle. 



Treatment Having determined on the position of the 

 obstruction and its nature, relief is afforded by various plans, 

 which I shall enumerate. 



I. By the Hand. In cases of impaction in the back part 

 of the mouth or in the throat, the animal's mouth is opened, 

 and the offending object is withdrawn. In some cases this 

 may lead to the discovery that the obstruction is a pharyngeal 

 polypus, as stated above. If so, the operator must wrench it 

 out. When, in any instance of impaction in the pharynx, 

 the pulling out of the tongue and attempts to grasp with the 

 hand fail, an assistant may press outside and push up- 

 wards. 



II. By causing the animal to swallow liquids. I have 

 found that in horses choked with chaff, &c., if the extent of 

 oesophagus plugged was not above six or eight inches, much 

 good might be done by allowing time, and causing the 

 animal to swallow tepid water or oil at intervals. By rub- 

 bing the neck, and breaking up the mass as much as possible, 

 good has been effected. Some practitioners trust too much 

 to spontaneous cures in these cases, and I have known them 

 return two or three days in succession to see if the animal 

 had been relieved by persistence in the above method. This 

 is highly reprehensible, as exhaustion reduces the chances of 

 success when an operation has to be decided on. When the 

 offending object is bulky and hard, it is not advisable to 

 persist long with the treatment by liquids, and efforts must 

 be made with the probang. 



III. The Probang. About the end of last century, Dr 

 Monro, the Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edin- 

 burgh, suggested a substitute for the ropes and sticks which 



