54 CANINE MEDICINE AND SURGERY 



tween some of the posterior ribs, or in tlie flank. 

 The history of the case should be obtained and the 

 habits of the animal inquired into, to determine 

 whether the patient has actually been seen to swal- 

 low something, or is in the habit of picking up and 

 swallowing odds and ends. The most prominent 

 symptoms are attempts at vomiting, poor appetite, 

 general dullness and depression, irregularity of the 

 bowels, blood in the feces, general unthriftiness, and 

 emaciation. 



An examination with the Roentgen rays makes 

 the diagnosis more positive. A careful digital ex- 

 amination should also be made through the abdomi- 

 nal walls, but this is very often negative. 



Treatment. — In the case of small articles, such as 

 needles or small nails, the animal should be fed on 

 soft or doughy food in order to inclose the foreign 

 body during its passage along the intestine. Thick 

 porridge is of good service here. An emetic of 1-20 

 to 1-10 grain of apomorphin often proves effectual in 

 expelling blunt objects. If the emetic is unsuc- 

 cessful, a dose of castor oil should be administered. 



In the case of hat pins, needles, meat skewers, 

 or similar articles it is better to await developments, 

 since in the course of a few days the point will often 

 work out, causing an abscess. When this is lanced, 

 the foreign body can be grasped and withdrawn; if 

 a hat pin, the head is cut off with wire cutters and 

 allowed to fall back into the stomach-; the abscess 

 cavity must be treated antiseptically. The patient 

 usually makes a rapid recovery. There is some risk 

 of peritonitis, due to these substances perforating 

 the stomach, but it is remarkable how seldom this 

 occurs. As a rule adhesion takes place between the, 

 stomach and thfe peritoneum, thus cutting off the 

 peritoneal cavity from infection. Where .large sub- 



