MAKING A POST MORTEM EXAMINATION 67 



been the trouble'. You will note also if the stomach 

 is hard and compacted; and, if so, indigestion may- 

 have been the trouble. The intestines will also 

 show if they be hard and compacted or in any- 

 otherwise bad condition. Pass the hands along to 

 see if the intestines are knotted in any place or if 

 nails are present in the stomach. It is not likely 

 that the nails have been the direct cause of death, 

 but this fact helps to indicate the condition of the 

 digestion trap. 



Often hair balls or parasites will be found ; either 

 may clog up the channel and may be the immediate 

 cause of death. I have on more than one occasion 

 found that the fuzz of crimson clover, accumulating 

 in the intestines of horses, rolls up into a hard, 

 compacted ball, and not being able to pass out, be- 

 comes an obstruction in the passageway and 

 ultimately causes death. 



Kidneys and Bladder. — The urine tells its tale 

 also ; a very disagreeable odor indicates some dis- 

 turbance; and a brownish or dark-red color may 

 indicate a local disease or a constitutional break- 

 down. Texas fever in cattle produces a very dark 

 or reddish urine, Azoturia in horses, a similar color. 

 Gallstones or gravel are often found in the bladder, 

 ' and these frequently cause serious disturbance, if 

 not death. 



Lungs. — Look the lungs over carefully. See if 

 the natural color is present and if the soft, spongy 

 constituency responds to the same kind of touch 

 as does the thoroughly healthy lung. In health 

 the lungs are a very light pink color. If inflamma- 

 tion has been present this will be indicated by the 

 dark color and the hard density. 



When the lung is cut apart with the knife further 

 observation should be made. A marble appear- 



