342 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 



phagia. When the sharp bodies once pass the pharynx they 

 generally descend into the digestive receptacles and there 

 cause varied manifestations. Blunt bodies of considerable 

 dimensions may lodge in the pharynx and cause signs of 

 asphyxia or else descend into the oesophagus and obstruct it. 

 And, again, such bodies may descend into the stomach and 

 accumulate there in considerable quantities. They may re- 

 main in the rumen of an ox for an indefinite period without 

 disclosing their presence by any morbid phenomena, if com- 

 posed of inert substances (lead, paper-covered plaster, etc.) 



The operations of sharp bodies are varied. They may 

 impede the movements of the rumen by their bulk. 



Mathis reports the interesting history of a cow that swal- 

 lowed the stiletto of a probang, which, being of considerable 

 si/e, could be made to project by depressing a point in the 

 left flank, from whence it was surgically removed. 



Sharp bodies are usually small and may remain in the 

 digestive organs for some time without causing any trouble. 

 Most frequently they become fixed in the reticulum, a con- 

 tractile organ with an areolar arrangement that is well 

 adapted to admit of implantation and fixation of foreign bod- 

 ies. If they take a forward course they cause pericarditis, 

 purulent pleurisy, or pulmonary abscess. When directed up- 

 ward and to the left they cause abscess of the spleen, and 

 when downward and to the right an abscess of the liver. If 

 they remain in the rum^in they may become fixed to the 

 walls and cause local peritonitis and at the same time exca- 

 vate a more or less extensive passage through the abdom- 

 inal muscles, at which point a phlegmon appears and then 

 terminates in an abscess that points and discharges pus con- 

 taining dregs of alimentary matter from the rumen. Thi,? 

 termination constitutes the well-known fistula of the rumen. 

 Ill other cases the rupture of the abdominal wall may cause 

 hernia of the rumen. And lastly there are exceptional in- 



