THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 267 



parts of the oesopliageal passage with oil, and stimulating 

 them with a mild cathartic. Such treatment seems most 

 satisfactory in simple impaction, and where actual inflam- 

 mation is present should be supplemented by external 

 stimulation. Enemas ought to be regularly administered 

 and the animal carefully nursed. The thirst which is 

 present in the inflammatory stage may be relieved by 

 nitrated water ad libitum, 



A remarkable case of atrophy, with almost total dis- 

 appearance of the lamina of the omasum, was recorded in 

 the ' Yeterinarian/ 1833, p. 454. 



Abomasitis, Inflammation of the True Stomach, — If the 

 views of Professor Williams are accepted, the account of 

 the impaction of the omasum as given above is to be 

 transferred to this heading. In this view he seems to 

 follow and coincide with Professor Dick's opinions. It is 

 certain, however, that we get abomasitis in some cases 

 of poisoning, and according to some authors, an idio- 

 pathic form, in which no such symptoms of cerebral 

 disorder are present, only those of acute fever, severe 

 abdominal pain, and " a curious stretching out of the fore 

 limbs, with the brisket almost to the ground '' (Youatt) . 

 The causes of this, apart from poison, are not well 

 ascertained, for certainly the idiopathic form is very 

 infrequent. 



Post-mortem lesions comprise congestive redness, with 

 considerable production of flaky mucus, and sometimes 

 blood, intermingled with the contents of the organ, the 

 duodenum being generally almost equally involved. 



In this mucus are often found ^' hair balls,^^ which con- 

 sist almost wholly of hair matted together by mucus. 

 These may have passed directly from the reticulum through 

 the omasum, or during redeglutition have made their way 

 at once into the fourth stomach ; or, as is perhaps more 

 probable, have been formed by the churning action of the 

 stomach in which they are found. 



We find one case of Impaction of the Ahomasum on record. 

 We can easily understand that the complex and thorough 

 preparative apparatus at the lower extremity of the oeso- 



