Diseases of the Digestive Organs. 235 



witli the formation of a fine frothy mass, (potatoes, espe- 

 cially diseased or frosted ones,) food containing a narcotic 

 or paralyzing principle, (green Indian corn, partially 

 ripened wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, tares and grasses,) 

 bulky, dry, fibrous, innutritions aliments, (aftermath mixed 

 with old withered stems of a former growth, hay that has 

 ripened before being cut, dried sedges and rushes, stalks 

 of ripened beans, peas, etc.,) and finally musty, rusty or 

 otherwise injured hay. Salivary fistula or obstruction 

 and worn or diseased teeth may contribute to it. 



Symptoms. Develop more slowly than in tympany. 

 There is dullness, sluggishness, raised back, hurried breath- 

 ing, and frequent moaning. The abdomen swells, espe- 

 cially the left side, but it hangs downward, has no absolute 

 drum-like resonance on tapping, and pressure leaves a 

 temporary indentation. As the disease advances there is 

 the same difficult breathing as in tympany, frequent pas- 

 sage of dung and urine, stupor and finally suffocation or 

 death from nervous shock. If due to green food, diarrhoea 

 usually precedes death, and a spontaneous cure may be 

 effected by this or by vomiting, but only in rare cases. 



Treatment. In the first stages give stimulants and anti- 

 ferments, as for tympany, with active but not irritating 

 purgatives to unload the stomach. A pound each of 

 Epsom and Glauber salts, 2 oz. oil of turpentine, and ^ 

 drachm of nux vomica will be a suitable dose for an ox, to 

 be followed up by stimulants, and in seven hours, if no 

 relief, by a second dose of the same strength. If drum-hke 

 resonance at the upper part of the left side shows the 

 pressure of free gas, draw it off by puncturing, and dash 

 cold water over the body to encourage contraction of the 

 paunch. Give active stimulants every two or three hours. 



If there is no sign of improvement but rather stupor 

 and sinking, the only hope is in opening the stomach in 

 the left side where it is punctured in tympany, enlarging 

 the opening until the hand can be introduced, having two 

 assistants hold the edges of the wound in the stomach 



