SUBACUTE OBSTRUCTION OF THE CMCUM 239 



way of eating, showing pain, etc., during the progress of 

 the case. There was, in fact, a lamentable lack of intelli- 

 gent interest, and, in plain EngHsh, I was very much 

 misled by the muddling mismanagement of the owner 

 and his men. 



Still, the post-mortem cleared matters up. The caecum 

 was found tremendously impacted, and its contents as 

 hard and as dry as those found in the ' manifold ' of the 

 ox, while the colon, as I have before mentioned, was 

 ruptured in its first portion. That the issue of the case 

 would have been materially altered even had the patient 

 received closer attention I cannot really think. The 

 reason for regret is that I have so little to record of what 

 would have been an unusually interesting case. 



General Remarks. — The foregoing pages well serve 

 to illustrate the fact that in medicine there is no such 

 thing as marking time. Here again, even with the com- 

 monly-regarded simple affection of ' colic ' we have made 

 a further small advance. And yet, just as it will be plain 

 to others, so it is plain to me, there are several points 

 which with the passing of time may be considerably en- 

 larged on. Perhaps, however, sufficient has been said to 

 awaken interest. The record of these cases plainly 

 enough forces one lesson home, and that is the need for 

 a closer appreciation of the facts concerning the anatomy 

 and function of the part implicated. Smith, in his various 

 writings, has previously done an immense amount of work 

 which has already borne good fruit in the way of further- 

 ing our knowledge and improving our treatment of the 

 intestinal disorders of the horse. It certainly appears to 

 me that here again he has done work in connection with 

 the physiology of this portion of the intestinal tract which 

 is bound sooner or later to have far-reaching results. 



Before concluding, I would like to remark shortly on 



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