Colic, Enteralgia, Intestinal Spasm. 319 



struggle in various ways, he may start to rise, sit for a moment 

 on his haunches, then go down and roll as before. Or he may 

 get up, shake himself and resume feeding as if entirely well. 

 Soon the spasms reappear, suddenly as at first, and after a time 

 subside as before. Thus the disease proceeds, each succeeding 

 paroxysm diminishing in violence until they permanently subside, 

 or increasing until the animal dies worn out with shock, suffering 

 and exhaustion. If the paroxysms are severe the skin is usually 

 bathed more or less in perspiration. Usually the peristalsis con- 

 tinues more or less, a rumbling is heard in the bowels and more 

 or less faeces are passed in small solid balls or semi-liquid. 



The course of the disease is usually rapid and followed by re- 

 covery. When prolonged it may become complicated by volvulus, 

 invagination, indigestion or even enteritis. 



Diagnosis. The characteristic symptoms are the suddenness 

 of the onset, the extreme suffering during the paroxysm, the 

 reckless manner in which the animal throws himself down, the 

 intermissions with complete absence of pain, the natural condi- 

 tion of the pulse and temperature in the intermissions, the com- 

 fort with which the patient shakes himself, and the absence of all 

 abdominal tenderness, manipulation and friction seeming to give 

 relief rather than discomfort. 



In the colic of acute indigestion there is the previous exces- 

 sive or unwholesome meal, or the full drink after feeding ; there 

 is tympany, or a loaded state of the abdomen proving flat on per- 

 cussion, there may be crepitation on auscultation, there is contin- 

 uous pain with exacerbations (not complete intermissions), and 

 there is rather a careful mode of lying down. 



In intestinal constipation or other obstruction, faeces may 

 be passed at first in small pellets coated with mucus or they may 

 be at first passed freely but in steadily lessening quantities until 

 they stop altogether, The pain is constant but worse at one 

 time than another and in case of external hernia the swelling will 

 be visible. 



In helminthiasis there is the general unthriftiness, irregular 

 appetite, frizzled broken hair on the base of the tail, a fur of 

 dried mucus around the anus and the presence of parasites in 

 the droppings. 



In verminous thrombosis, to the symptoms just named there 



