EUPTUEE OF STOMACH. 417 



power. Taking into consideration the feict (which can be proved 

 by experiment on the dead animal) that no air will escape from 

 the stomach into the gullet, if the stomach is filled, even to the 

 point of bursting, with air from its intestinal opening; it can be 

 easily seen that rupture of the stomach may readily occur when the 

 intestinal canal is blocked up (by undigested food, or twist of the 

 intestine, for example), and when the contents of the stomach are 

 in a state of fermentation. It is almost needless to say that the 

 nearer the seat of the obstruction is to the orifice by which the 

 stomach opens into the intestine, the greater will be the danger of 

 this accident. Obstruction of the intestine was the cause of 33 

 cases of rupture of the stomach among the horses of the Prussian 

 army during one year. 



RUPTURE OF THE INTESTINES is also a complication of 

 fl.itulency, and, like rupture of the stomach, is greatly aided by the 

 presence of an obstruction which prevents the generated gas from 

 escaping by the anus. Owing to the fact that the human stomach 

 can, comparatively easily, get rid of undigested food by vomiting ; 

 rupture of the intestine is much more common in man than rupture 

 of the stomach. The converse, I believe, is the case in the horse. 

 Having no data to go on respecting the characteristics of rupture 

 of the intestines, I shall confine my remarks here to rupture of the 

 stomach, which may involve all three (serous, muscular, and 

 mucous) coats, and thus be complete, or incomplete, in which case 

 the muscular coat is the one usually affected. 



THE CHIEF SYMPTOMS OF RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH 

 are vomiting, and more or less sudden collapse of the vital powers, 

 preceded by great gaseous distension and violent colic. In vomit- 

 ing " the muscles of the abdomen and neck are the seat of con- 

 vulsive contractions ; the bent head is kept close to the chest, at 

 the same time a yellowish green, frothy liquid of the odour of 

 chyme, and of a consistence somewhat similar to that of the par- 

 taken forage, flows from the nose or from the mouth. The quantity 

 varies from a few spoonfuls to a stable bucketful or more. The 

 animal sweats abundantly, the legs are drawn up under the body, 

 and the eyes are haggard and fixed. Immediately after the vomit- 

 ing the patient becomes very weak, trembles and staggers, and 

 sometimes is seized with violent fits of coughing. In some cases 

 the act of vomition is not completed, but stops at a flow of saliva 

 from the mouth, nausea, and belching " (Friedberger and Frohner). 

 As a rule, when a horse vomits, the rejected food and fluids dribble 

 from the nostrils, and are seldom violently discharged.' 



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