THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 227 



CHAPTEH lY.— DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE 

 SYSTEM. 



Section I. — Oe the Alimentary Canal. 



Being a ruminant, the ox has certain characteristic 

 differences of structure and form of the digestive organs 

 as compared with those of the horse ; also there are special 

 features in which this animal differs from other ruminants. 

 The large size of the abdomen and the considerable 

 bulk of the mass of the alimentary canal, together with its 

 extent of surface and its large supply of blood, lead us to 

 anticipate numerous and complex disorders of the diges- 

 tive system. In this we are not mistaken. The weight 

 of the stomach and intestines is considered 143 per cent, 

 of that of the whole body (Lawes). The lijps are liable to 

 become involved in malignant disease of the face, but 

 most frequently come under the notice of the surgeon as 

 the seat of laceration or other wound. In the treatment of 

 such lesions no part which can possibly be saved must 

 be removed. These organs, with the dental pad, hard 

 palate, and gums, also are the seat of vesicular eruptions 

 in foot-and-mouth disease, and of some of the characteristic 

 lesions in cattle plague. Cruzel describes inflamination of 

 the lips at some length. 



The Incisor Teeth of the ox (fig. 38) are eight in number, 

 all in the lower jaw, placed with their crowns arranged 

 '^ like the keyboard of a piano,^^ their upper surfaces 

 meeting the dental pad. They have very small fangs, and 

 are loosely fixed in the jaw, the yielding of this part being 

 increased by the non-union of the symphysis. They may 

 be fractured or forced out ; if only one or two are injured 

 this will not materially interfere with the obtaining of 



