302 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



and apart from the evidence afforded by the other symp- 

 toms as described in Chapter XIX., it is not complete 

 twist of the colon. . . . And yet twist we have decided 

 is the condition with which we are dealing. Eliminating 

 the other possibilities as we have done, it can only be 

 some form of incomplete twist, and that of the double 

 colon. But of what portion of it ? 



Here the presence or absence of the "resilient tumour" 

 in the pelvis comes to our aid. If on exploration we 

 meet with the emptiness of the abdomen described in a 

 previous chapter, then we may take it as certain that 

 displacement of the pelvic flexure has occurred. The 

 point may here be raised that displacement has occurred 

 merely as a result of torsion elsewhere (say, at the 

 diaphragmatic flexure, or at the head of the bowel) and 

 that the pelvic flexure is thereby ' pulled back ' from its 

 normal position, and is not itself actually the subject of 

 twist. 



Now this ' pulling back ' of the pelvic flexure can only 

 occur to any great extent in cases of complete twist of 

 the bowel, and in these instances we get a cutting oft 

 of the blood-supply to the half or to the whole of the 

 colic loop, according to the position of the twist. In 

 either of these events we get a train of symptoms de- 

 pending on strangulation and rapid gangrene of the 

 distal portion of the loop, which train of symptoms we 

 have, but a paragraph or two back, referred to. But 

 this particular set of symptoms we have decided is not 

 in evidence. We have quite made up our minds that 

 the symptoms shown are those of incomplete twist only — 

 and yet the pelvic flexure is missing from its normal 

 position. Just what does this mean? 



Asked that question, we may sum up as follows : 

 We have here a case of intestinal torsion ; we have 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



