DILATATION OF THE STOMACH. 



Adaptability to bulk of food. Dilatation with atony. Eructation. Crib- 

 biting. Vomiting. Age. Rare in cattle. Catarrh, overloading, nervous 

 lesions, intestinal obstructions, tumors, calculi, volvulus, invagination, 

 hepatitis. Symptoms : overfeeding, pot belly, unthrifty hide, emaciation, 

 eructations, cribbiting, fatigue, perspiration, indigestion, colic after meals, 

 tympanic resonance. Lesions : varying distension, contents, action of cal- 

 culus or pebbles, cardiac dilatation. Treatment : nutritive, digestible, 

 concentrated food, lavage, strychnia, iron, faradization, antiseptics. 



The Stomach has a great power of accommodation to the 

 amount of food habitually taken. In the horse fed mainly on 

 grain with only a little hay, it is habitually small, while in one 

 fed on cut straw with a little grain, on hay alone, or on green 

 food, it is very much more capacious though within the physio- 

 logical limits of health. The cow wintered on grain alone, has 

 all four stomachs lessened in capacity, and though she maintains 

 good condition she is ill fitted to change at once to the bulky 

 grass diet of spring. The heavily fed swine, and the farina fed 

 dog and cat, have both stomach and intestines increased in 

 capacity over those of the wild boar, or the purely carnivorous 

 wolf or wild cat. 



The condition becomes pathological when associated with atony, 

 and this may occur directly from over distension. It is especially 

 common in the horse by reason of the difficulty of relieving the 

 over distension by eructation or vomiting, and also by reason of 

 the habit of swallowing air (cribbiting). The dog, which has 

 great facility in vomiting, should be correspondingly protected 

 from the condition, yet it is very common in old dogs, doubtless 

 from their comiiion vice of gourmandizing and lack of exercise. 

 Cattle are rarely attacked, the fourth stomach being protected by 

 the others which stand guardian over it and prevent the sudden 

 access of excess of food even if that is rapidly swallowed. 



Other causes are : chronic catarrh which renders the stomach 

 atonic, lessens its peptic secretion and determines indigestions and 

 over distensions : habitual overfeeding which results in chronic in- 

 digestions and fermentations ; lesions of the brain, and tumors of 

 the jugular furrow or mediastinum which interfere with the 

 1 80 



