CONTRACTION OF THE INTESTINES. 69 



mulations of fecal matter in the large intestines. This requires 

 special mention, as it is frequently seen and always in old animals 

 that have little exercise and live ou highly spiced food — veal or 

 game — or eat quantities of bones that they are unable to digest. 

 Great accumulation of fecal matter gathers in the colon and rec- 

 tum. The most marked symptom is the repeated attempts of the 

 animal to defecate without any results or only succeeding in pass- 

 ing a small amount of feces. These are coated with mucus or 

 blood and passed with more or less pain. The stools are small 

 and are generally yellowish-brown in color and in powder-like 

 masses that break up easily, showing no moisture in them. The 

 position of the tail is characteristic. It is carried so as to form a 

 curve at the rectum, the curve bting from the base to one-half of 

 the tail. On pressing the fingers into the sides of the abdomen at 

 the entrance of the pelvis up toward the spinal cord we find an 

 elongated, sausage-like body which is extremely sensitive to the 

 touch. This hard mass is found to extend downward and forward 

 toward the umbilicus. When the finger, after being well oiled, is 

 introduced into the anus, there will be found hard fecal masses in 

 front of the sphincter. It is generally impossible to remove them, 

 except to break them up, either with the finger or having first 

 injected a small quantity of oil or glycerin into the rectum, or the 

 handle of a spoon can be used to break up the masses, taking care 

 not to injure the mucous membrane. This is to be followed up by 

 the injection of clysters, or, what is better, glycerin suppositories, 

 and later on administer a sharp purgative, followed by the admin- 

 istration of drop-doses of the tincture of nux vomica. 



Therapeutics. As soon as the symptoms of obstruction have 

 been clearly defined, if the stenosis can be removed in a direct 

 way, as would be the case in strangulated hernia, or -in the case 

 of accumulalions of feces in the rectum due to fecal stagnation, or 

 from ulceration or abscess of the rectum, we will have to treat 

 them as described above; but we might add to that the injection 

 of large quantities of soapy water several times daily, which can 

 be given with the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 18, and a dose of 

 calomel followed by castor or olive oil. The author has not gotten 

 very good, results from the use of physostigma or the use of gly- 

 cerin injections into the rectum. [The translator has either in the 

 form of glycerin suppositories or a solution of glycerin 1, water 10. J 



