238 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



from the simple stomach of man or the dog to the com- 

 plex gastric arrangement of ruminants may be seen in the 

 horse and the pig. 



CEsopHAGiTis, Inflammation of the (Esophagus, has 

 been described, but it is not of frequent occurrence, 

 its symptoms are heat and swelling along the channel of 

 the neck, profuse flow of saliva, difiiculty in deglutition, 

 and fever more or less marked. 



Probably from a condition of this kind results Fibeous 

 Degeneration op the CEsophagus, as sometimes seen 

 (' Edinburgh Veterinary Review,^ vii, 27). There is nothing 

 special in this, for the ordinary result of inflammation of 

 muscular structures is the substitution of organised lymph 

 for contractile fibre. Its effects are important; they are 

 stricture and dilatation. 



Dilatation op the (Esophagus is less frequent than in 

 the horse, partly because the oesophagus is naturally larger, 

 partly because it performs a double function in the ox, 

 and, therefore, when deranged leads, to more rapid emacia- 

 tion, so that any relaxation of the walls is not so liable to 

 go to extremes. In a case of this kind but little can 

 result from surgery. The muscular coat is weakened or 

 degenerated, a state which can seldom be repaired. It is 

 best to endeavour to feed the animal for the butcher. 

 This must be done with great care, and manipulation over 

 the course of the oesophagus from above downwards, 

 after a meal, will tend to remove any accumulation which 

 may take place in the weakened part when it is in the 

 cervical region, where the tube is most exposed to injury. 

 The diet must be soft and nourishing, so that there may be 

 little need for regurgitation. In mild cases a blister over 

 the affected part has been found beneficial. Vomition, 

 periodical choking, and excessive appetite are signs of 

 those cases in which the oesophagus has a saccular dilata- 

 tion at its inferior extremity, which is the most frequent 

 seat of the disorder. 



Stricture of the CEsopKagus is due either to hypertrophy 

 of the muscular coat, to its fibrous degeneration with 

 shrinking, or to injury to the mucous membrane, with 



