UMBILICAL HERNIA. EXOMPHALOS. 305 



So long as a hernia is not strangulated, the animal is but 

 slightly inconvenienced by it, and internal ruptures are not 

 recognised until producing obstruction to the course of the 

 intestinal contents. Superficial herniae are readily diagnosed 

 by the character of the swelling, and the anatomical peculi- 

 arities of the lesion. 



UMBILICAL HERNIA. EXOMPHALOS. 



This is not unfrequently congenital, and if not seen on the 

 animal at birth, it usually occurs in the early periods of life, 

 from the circumstance that the navel closes effectually in 

 adult animals. Hertwig has seen it, however, in horses 

 eight, ten, or twelve years old. It is most rarely seen in 

 sheep and pigs, and consists in the protrusion of omentum 

 or intestine through the umbilicus. 



Symptoms. It is the presence of a fluctuating tumour at 

 the navel, varying much in size, and seen from the time of 

 birth, or shortly after, that indicates exomphalos. We rarely 

 have this hernia strangulated. 



Treatment In some fortunate instances, the intestine is 

 drawn into the abdomen as the animal grows, the mesentery 

 being proportionately shorter in the adult as compared with 

 the young animal. The only surgical interference of ser- 

 vice consists in appropriate bandages, with a compress for 

 the navel in very young animals, and, in severe cases of old 

 standing, a pair of wooden clams must be placed tightly over 

 the skin forming the hernial sac, whilst the animal is on its 

 back, and the hernia is thoroughly reduced. A tight ligature 

 round the neck of the hernial sac is often effectual 



INGUINAL HERNIA (Fig. 106.) 



In stallions, and in young animals far more frequently than 

 old, a fold of intestine passes into the inguinal canal, through 



x 



