116 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



the case is of long standing or has been neglected, 

 there may be the beginning of an eversion of the rec- 

 tum. 



The cow is considerably distressed, breathing rapid- 

 ly, and sometimes moaning while in the act of strain- 

 ing. She stands up and lies down at intervals, and 

 when lying down she usually stretches out, flat on her 

 side, moaning and straining. In nearly all cases there 

 is a marked degree of tympanites. 



The diagnosis can be made only from examination 

 per rectum. When the hand is passed into the rec- 

 tum it will not enter more than the length of the fin- 

 gers, or, at most, to the wrist. The floor of the rectum 

 is pushed up in the form of a smoothly rounded swell- 

 ing so that it is in contact with the sacral region. The 

 first thought which this arouses in the surgeon's mind 

 is of a fully distended urinary bladder. However, 

 when he passes the catheter and withdraws the urine 

 from the bladder, he discovers that the swelling in 

 the rectum has not diminished a particle. The diag- 

 nosis of a cyst is therefore certain and the treatment 

 comes up for consideration. 



The treatment of these cases is entirely suigical and 

 is confined to tapping the cyst, allowing the contents 

 to escape. In most cases the cyst content is a watery, 

 yellowish, odorless fluid ; if it were not free from odor 

 it might pass for urine as far as appearance goes. 



The best results are obtained by tapping the cyst 

 through the floor of the rectum. A trocar and canula 

 and a piece of rubber tubing is all that is required. 

 The best trocar for this purpose is an ordinary horse 

 trocar, such as is used in tapping the cecum. The 

 rubber tubing should be of such calibre that it passes 

 over the head of the canula easily. 



The operation is best performed with the cow in 



