80 



RUMENOTOMY 



anaesthetized. They are almost without sensation except 

 where the larger sensory trunks of the part are encoun- 

 tered. The needle for hypodermic injection needs to be 

 very sharp in order to penetrate the denSe, thick skin. A. 

 small, short, reinforced needle is best suited for the pur- 

 pose. General anaesthesia is not usually prudent for 

 rumenotomy because when the rumen is distended with 

 food or gas, or has for any reason lost its tone, passive 

 regurgitation of food occurs, with inhalation when it 

 reaches the pharynx. Later, inhalation pneumonia occurs. 



FIG. 31. Satnres In the Rumen illustrating 3 Layers 



I. Third layer of sutures burying the second, the last one laid but 

 not tied ; 2, second layer burying the third layer, 3. 



When satisfactory local anaesthesia has been induced, 

 make a cutaneous incision in the left flank 7 to 10 inches 

 long, beginning at a point about equidistant from the lateral 

 processes of the lumbar vertebrae, the external tuberosity 

 of the ilium, and the last rib, and carried downward perpen- 

 dicular to the spinal column as indicated in Fig. 30. Fol- 

 lowing this, a second incision of the same length shou Id be 

 made on the central line of the gaping cutaneous wound 



