34 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



as a rule, is very hard to do except in very quiet animals and 

 where there is a trained assistant, such as in a hospital; but in 

 private practice the easier way is the best — that is, to administer 

 an emetic. The best means is to give a dose of apomorphia hypo- 

 dermatically. 



R. — Apomorphia hydrocUorate 0.04 



Aquadestil 4.00 



S. — Ten to twenty drops hypodermatically. 

 In a few minutes free vomiting occurs and the contents of the 

 stomach can then be examined. Of course, you must take into 

 consideration the time which has elapsed since the animal had 

 taken the food and the character of the alimentary matter. It 

 would be well, therefore, that you know the following facts con- 

 cerning (Fig. 10) the digestion of the dog's stomach: 



Fig. 10. 



Contents of the stomach (four hours after eating) : Muscular fibre, starch-cells, fat-crystals 

 and cells, round cells, epithelium, vegetable cells, fungus. 



Digestion of the Stomach on a Meat-diet. After taking 

 a full meal of meat cut in small pieces the digestion in the 

 stomach is very active and free ; it increases until the third hour 

 and slowly decreases until the ninth, and is nearly over at the 

 twelfth hour. After eating a very large meal the digestion is 

 somewhat slower; the different kinds of meat also vary in the 

 time of their digestion. Pork is the hardest to digest, and the 

 others are classified in the following order: Mutton, veal, beef, 

 and lastly the flesh of other animals (Astley Cooper). Skin, 

 sinew, cartilage, and bones are very hard to digest; the latter are 



