204 Veterinary Medicine. 



collapse in case of rupture of the bowel. A sudden increase of 

 the pain may otherwise indicate the occurrence of invagination. 



As indicating a favorable termination there may be restoration 

 of the rumbling, the passage of faeces at first perhaps in the form 

 of solid cylindroid masses, and later as a mixture of broken up 

 ingesta, liquid and gas, the tension of the abdomen disappears, 

 the pains lessen and cease, and there is a gradual restoration to 

 health. 



Lesions. The abdominal walls are tense and more or less drum- 

 like, and when these are cut through the large intestines pro- 

 trude strongly. When punctured there is a free discharge of 

 gas. The most common seat of obstruction is the pelvic flexure, 

 but it may occur in the floating colon, or rectum, in the double 

 colon even at other parts than its pelvic flexure, in the caecum or 

 in the ilio-caecal opening. The impacted mass is firm, rather 

 dry, covered with mucus and sometimes blood, and manifestly 

 only partially digested. Its size and form vary greatly as it is 

 moulded into the affected viscus. The mucosa in contact with 

 the impacted mass is covered with a thick layer of viscid mucus 

 sometimes streaked with blood. The mucosa itself is congested, 

 thickened, friable, and marked with spots or patches of various 

 colors (white, gray green, ) indicating commencing necrosis. In 

 old standing cases this may extend to the other coats of the bowel 

 determining perforation or laceration. 



The portion of the bowel immediately in front of the obstruc- 

 tion is filled with liquid which has been forced down upon the 

 barrier by the active peristaltic movements, and the distension 

 by liquid and gas may have increased until rupture has ensued 

 with the escape of the contents into the peritoneal cavity 

 Invagination, volvulus and peritonitis are common. 



Treatment. This will vary according to the stage and degree 

 of the illness. In slight cases with transient colics only after 

 meals, a more laxative diet may suffice. Boiled flaxseed, roots, 

 potatoes, apples, green cornstalks, silage, or even sloppy bran 

 mashes, with an abundance of good water and active exercise 

 may prove efficient. Copious injections of warm water, soap- 

 suds, or linseed oil emulsion may be added. 



In the more violent cases we must resort to more active 

 measures and yet drastic purgatives are full of danger. The free 



