PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 343 



Stances in which the bodies travel a considerable distance 

 before effecting an exit. If they meet an important organ 

 on their passage they deposit the seeds of abscess in them. 

 If they encounter an important artery an aneurism is formed 

 or fatal internal haemorrhage results. 



The other open cavities, besides the digestive, do not 

 frequently receive foreign bodies. However, Guillebeau, in 

 a report on a series of cases, refers to one in which the vagi- 

 nal mucosa was injured by the maneuvers of a psychopath. 

 In the respiratory organs, bodies that accidentally fall into 

 the trachea may cause broncho-pneumonia. In certain dis- 

 eases of the ox fragments of hay and bits of chaff may aspi- 

 rate into the bronchial tract. This accident is often compati- 

 ble with life, attacking but a single lobe, which is generally 

 the anterior. The conjunctiva does not endure a foreign 

 body well. In the large and small ruminants seeds, chaff, 

 etc., may lodge under the eyelids and provoke a serious sup 

 pnrative process if ignored. 



TREATMENT. — The mode of intervention is necessa- 

 rily variable. It is well to follow the principle of respecting 

 an aseptic foreign body that causes no disturbance. If 

 infection is suspected, — and it soon becomes apparent, — 

 ■prompt intervention is necessary. The nail prick or strtet- 

 nail wound are grave accidents that require special as well 

 as prompt surgical treatment. Accessible foreign bodies 

 causing fistula should be dislodged and removed. Those 

 fixed in the mouth or pharynx may be pulled out with for- 

 ceps or hands, and those in the oesophagus are carried back 

 into the pharynx or pushed into the stomach ; or, in the case 

 of failure, oesophagotomy will become necessary. Foreign 

 bodies in the stomach and intestines may be removed by 

 laparotomy, and gastrotomy or enterotomy. Morez re- 

 moved a spoon from the stomach of a dog, and a bullet from 

 the intestines of another. The operation performed by 



