GASTKITIS. 223 



The poison which has caused the inflammation is usually 

 found in the stomach, or adhering to its coats. 



The history of the case is often necessary for practical 

 purposes, but the symptoms are characteristic in cases of 

 poisoning. They consist in nausea, followed by vomiting in 

 the smaller animals, and speedily attended by violent colic in 

 all. The horse looks round to left flank, crouches, and can- 

 not stand quiet or erect. Pulse becomes quick, and though 

 strong at first, is soon feeble, irregular, or indistinct at the 

 jaw. Thirst is sometimes intolerable; purging ensues, with 

 violent straining, and the animal becomes very languid. The 

 legs and ears are cold; partial sweats may break out over 

 the body; the urine becomes high coloured and scanty. 

 Symptoms of stupor or unconsciousness appear; the pupils 

 are dilated, and the animal sinks paralytic, or with convul- 

 sive fits, the suffering from abdominal pains being, throughout 

 the whole course of the case, most intense. 



In the Veterinarian's Vade-Mecum, I have entered at 

 considerable length into the history of all irritant poisons, 

 whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, and with regard to 

 the foregoing description of the symptoms, I may quote from 

 Dr Brinton's admirable work on the Diseases of the Stomach 

 in Man. The doctor says : " Of course, in the symptoms, as well 

 as the lesions, produced by these agents, there is much that 

 is too characteristic or specific of each poison to be included 

 in any such brief outline. The concentration of the particular 

 agent, its solubility, its affinity for water, its chemical action, 

 its solvent effect on the tissues, its constitutional action after 

 being absorbed into the blood, its attraction or determination 

 to a particular part of the canal can greatly modify the 

 symptoms just summed up. Hence, quite apart from the 

 results of an analysis, they generally justify a conjecture as 

 to the poison by which they have been produced. The state 



