SUBACUTE OBSTRUCTION OF THE C^CUM 231 



This observation I have since been able myself to 

 endorse. In the case which came under my own notice, 

 although there was not an actual purge, the motions 

 were abnormally ' sloppy.' 



Afterwards come the symptoms of colic and the com- 

 mencement of the pains. These pains are not at all 

 alarming. On the contrary, they consist entirely of 

 those that every veterinary surgeon terms ' dull.' At no 

 time, not even for a few moments, is there any mani- 

 festation of pain that is acute. 



Not only are the pains of so slight a character as to 

 lead the owner to treat the case lightly, and to neglect 

 sending for skilled advice at the outset, but they are so 

 excessively ' dull ' as to lull the veterinarian himself into 

 a state of false security. On the occasion of his first few 

 visits he quite thinks he has an ordinary case of obstruc- 

 tion of the colon — and the colon only — to deal with, a 

 case that should readily yield to treatment. 



In spite of his treatment, he finds, to his gradually 

 growing wonder, that the case does not alter. The 

 animal still lingers, and the pains, still dull, continue. 



This very excessive dulness may eventually prove to 

 be a point of diagnostic importance. But of that more 

 later. 



All, then, that we can say is that the patient is just 

 dull and listless. There is no desire for food, but water 

 is not wholly refused. The pulse and respirations are 

 little if at all altered ; and the important point is that, 

 although the patient lingers eight, nine, or ten days, or 

 even longer, they show no alteration during the run of 

 the case. Only for a few hours do they show sign of 

 disturbance. That is just prior to the death of the 

 patient, and the indications then are such as to point 

 plainly to rupture of the intestines, 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



