116 THEORY AND PRACTICE 



RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH. 



Rupture of the stomach may be partial or complete. Remem- 

 ber that the stomach wall consists of three coats, the middle 

 layer of non-striated muscle, covered with a serous coat, the peri- 

 toneum, and an inner mucous coat which lines the stomach. In 

 partial rupture the serous coat gives away first, then the mus- 

 cular. 



Etiology. — Rupture may occur in gastric flatulence, repeated 

 attacks of which will terminate in rupture. The rupture will 

 probably occur in a much milder attack of flatulence than he 

 may have recovered from many times before. Every attack of 

 flatulence weakens the stomach wall. In posting a case of 

 rupture, the tear may be a foot long — this probably took place 

 wdien tlie horse fell. That which occurs in case of distension is 

 usually 2-4 inches long. And the post will reveal something 

 about the time of the rupture; if it has taken place 6-8 hours be- 

 fore death, the edges. of the laceration will show congestion or 

 even inflammation; if the tear took place when the animal fell, 

 the edges will not be congested. 



Semeiology. — The symptoms of rupture are not diagnostic. 

 Never state the diagnosis positively, to be contradicted after- 

 ward by a post. The following symptoms are usually confirmed 

 by post mortem in case of rupture but they are present in other 

 diseases too : 



1. Vomition is a usual symptom. There 

 is not necessarily an actual expulsion 

 of food and injecta, but there may 

 be retching. In some cases there will 

 be no vomiting at all. In rupture 

 of the diaphragm and in gut-tie we get 

 vomition also. Horses have vomited 

 2-10 hours after rupture as proven by 

 the congestion and in some cases in- 

 flammation of the edges of the rup- 

 ture. We may find an extensive peri- 

 tonitis in case of rupture, this show- 

 ing that time may elapse and the ani- 



