GASfROCiENfESlS 65 



cause only a limited amount of the fermenting mass will bub- 

 ble through the canula. If the relief is inadequate,— that is, 

 if the threatening state continues, rumenotomy must be at 

 once substituted. In the extremely urgent case it is even al- 

 lowable to plunge the blade of a large knife directly into the 

 rumen without ceremony, in lieu of a careful, painstaken 

 laparo-rumenotomy. 



These operations for the relief of intra-abdominal tension 

 in ruminants, must not be delayed too long. Their success 

 depends largely upon their performance before fatal damage 

 has been wrought by the extreme pressure upon the viscera 

 of both of the large splanchnic cavities. Like enterocentesis 

 in the soliped, gastrocentesis in ruminants is not a harmful 

 operation, but is often discredited by performing it after the 

 reactive powers of the organs have been destroyed by pro- 

 longed and extreme pressure. 



In the soliped, gastrocentesis is never effectual. Although 

 the stomach can with some difficulty be reached with a trocar 

 and canula, the constitution of the contents is never of such 



Fig. 30 — Cattle Trocar and Canula. 



a character as to admit of its passage through the canula in 

 sufficient quantity to afford any relief. In short, tapping the 

 stomach of the horse is not a sensible undertaking. It is un- 

 certain, ineffectual, difficult, absurd. Aspiration by means of 

 the stomach tube is the rational substitute. 



In the carnivora, the overloaded stomach takes care of 

 itself by emesis. 



EQUIPMENT.— i. Scalpel. 



2. Scissors. 



3. Trocar and canula of large dimen- 



sions. (Fig. 30.) 



4. Basin of antiseptic solution. 

 RESTRAINT. — The operation is always performed in 



the standing position, unless the patient has already fallen 

 and is threatened with asphyxiation. In the latter event a 

 plunge of the instrument into the exposed flank while the 

 animal is recumbent is justifiable. In the usual case, fixing 

 the head to a pillar, fence or stanchion is the only restraint 

 required. It is advisable to have both sides accessible be- 

 cause in the smaller and medium sized animals the operation 



