286 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



rumen to action. The degree to which constipation may 

 exist in the ox, and the large amount of cathartic doses 

 which may be given, are well illustrated in a case recorded 

 in the ' Veterinarian/ 1829, p. 357, by Professor (then Mr.) 

 Simonds. Obstinate retention of faeces has been attributed 

 to fatty deposition around the rectum, since in prize beasts 

 accumulations of this nature are sometimes most remark- 

 able. 



HLemoeehoids — piles — tumours in the terminal portion 

 of the rectum or about the anus, are described by Armatage 

 as of occasional occurrence in the ox. They are varicose 

 conditions of haemorrhoidal or rectal veins. The principal 

 symptoms to which they give rise are pain in defeecation, 

 protrusion of the anus, bloody faeces, the presence of tu- 

 mours, and often some constitutional disturbance. They 

 depend upon liver disorder or habitual constipation. 



Treatment comprises soft diet, occasional administration 

 of laxatives, removal by ligature when practicable, and 

 astringent injections. Such measures, of course, are only 

 palliative. Cruzel describes as "Irritation venteuse du 

 rectum/' a disease which he attributes to the frequent 

 egress and ingress of air through the anus, as it occurs 

 in animals which work with their tails elevated. 



Diarrhoea. — Frequent evacuation of excessively fluid 

 faeces is a symptom of many disorders, or else is a diseased 

 condition of the lining mucous membranes of the intestines, 

 which is congested and, in some cases, inflamed. The 

 latter state is verging on dysentery, in which diarrhoea 

 when long continued and uncontrolled terminates. The 

 faeces, besides being very liquid, are often highly foetid, and 

 are expelled suddenly with force. In acute cases there is 

 an injected condition of the lining membrane of the 

 rectum, and tenesmus is a marked feature. Colicky pains 

 may be present. The animal either feeds but little or the 

 appetite is depraved ; rumination is irregular and imperfect, 

 the urine scanty, and the patient stands apart from the 

 rest of the herd with arched back and anxious expression. 



Causes. — Any irritation of the alimentary canal may 

 give rise to this disorder, thus coarse and badly saved 



