TORSION OF THE PELVIC FLEAUltn 311 



One good passage of faeces had taken place. This was 

 within an hour of the administration of the eserine and 

 pilocarpine. Since that nothing save the passage of a 

 little flatus. 



6 p.m. — I could detect no change, only that the mare 

 was weaker. 



August 6, 4.15 a.m. — Death occurred. I was informed 

 of this by a messenger, and was also told that from the 

 time of my last visit in the evening previous the mare had 

 grown steadily worse, that eventually she lost all control 

 of her actions, and that she died in agony with no previous 

 period of ease. 



Autopsy. — Contrary to what I had expected, this re- 

 vealed displacement of the pelvic flexure. What, during 

 the rectal examination I had taken to be the pelvic 

 flexure was a greatly distended coil of small intestine 

 forced into the pelvis. The pelvic flexure itself, as in 

 Case I., was doubled downward and forward (the carcass 

 again in the post-mortem position on the back) the end 

 of the flexure being out of sight beneath the second and 

 third portions of the bowel and a quantity of small intes- 

 tines. So like was this to the condition found in Case I. 

 that no photograph was taken. The abnormal position 

 the pelvic flexure took in the abdomen will, I think, be 

 sufficiently understood from reference to Fig. 28. 



In Case I. there was marked discoloration of the 

 bowel, although not sharply defined. In this instance 

 there was nothing of the kind marked. This last note 

 is of importance. It indicates that Case II., so far as 

 strangulation of the bowel went, was not so complete a 

 twist as Case I., and, although ending fatally, serves to 

 show the value of the favourable symptoms noted during 

 the life of the patient — namely, the passing of the flatus 

 and comparative absence of abdominal distension, together 



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