DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 185 
warcely stand alone, in fact, required the services of three men te 
steady him, he could walk, and seemed most at ease when kept 
in motion. I commenced immediately to inject warm soap-suds 
into the rectum; but so soon as the fluid entered the same it was 
umediately ejected, there being no room for it within, in conse- 
juence of the distension of the walls of the intestines, which 
piessed on the rectum. I next attempted to administer a colic 
drench, composed of ginger, golden seal, and hyposulphite of soda, 
but did not succeed in getting much of it down; for as soon as the 
fluid entered the esophagus, it was met by a volume of eructating 
gas, which brought the fluid back by way of the mouth and nos- 
trils. I learned, however, that, previous to my arrival, Mr. 
Smith, the foreman, had succeeded in drenching the patient with 
a full dose of the colic mixture. This probably had the effect of 
limiting the generation of gas; otherwise the animal might have 
died ere my arrival. The case now appeared almost hopeless; so 
I procured a trocar and canula, and plunged them through the 
flank into the large intestines. (See puncture of the intestines). 
On withdrawing the cutting instrument, a steady volume of gas 
issued through the canula for a period of ten minutes. The relief 
was immediate. I next gave a dose of colic drench, and left the 
animal in charge of the owner for the night. Early next morn- 
ing I visited the animal, and found that he was all right. He was 
fed lightly for a few days, and, without any other medical treat- 
ment, was again put to work. 
The dangers tc be apprehended in cases of this character are 
either rupture of the intestines or diaphragm. In either case, 
death is sure and certain. Sometimes, however, neither of these 
ruptures occur; then the distended intestines exert such pressme 
on the diaphragm and organs of respiration that the animal diee 
of suffocation and loss of pulse. When, therefore, it becomes im- 
possible for the patient to swallow medicine, in a case of this char- 
acter, recourse must be had to the trocar and eanula, in view of 
iiberating the imprisoned gas. The lack of a little knowledge or 
this subject has been the cause of the loas of very many valuable 
horses 
