3i8 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



all the symptoms of twist, as we have described them in 

 Chapter XIX., are only too clearly marked — the troubled 

 pulse, haggard expression, patchy sweats, sobbing res- 

 pirations, constant pain, and slowly gathering abdominal 

 distension. More particularly, perhaps, is the practi- 

 tioner alarmed at the constant presence in the pelvis of 

 the gas-distended coil of bowel — Walley's 'resilient 

 tumour of intestinal torsion.' At each visit rectal ex- 

 amination reveals this ' resilient tumour ' as still in 

 position, and the attendant symptoms of violent strain- 

 ing and spasmodic contraction of the rectal walls in no 

 way abating. He is confident that torsion of some 

 portion of the intestines has occurred. As a matter of 

 fact, the very presence of the distended knuckle of 

 intestine in the pelvis is evidence enough that displace- 

 ment of a sort has occurred, for normally, of course, 

 nothing of the kind should be there. If he is a believer 

 in the stimulant, as opposed to the sedative, treatment 

 of colic, he perhaps administers, as a sort of last 

 despairing attempt, a final and a larger dose of eserine. 



His next visit furnishes him with a very welcome 

 surprise. His patient, to all appearances previously 

 suffering from twist, has recovered. Was it twist ? I 

 think that in some, at any rate, of such cases, it is only 

 fair to admit that it was. For instance, the very great 

 majority of practitioners are agreed that rolling in the 

 agonies of colic is a cause of twist. Many, too, agree 

 in assigning as a cause the powerful contraction of the 

 muscular walls in spasm. In all fairness we admit this. 

 It is surely only equally fair to hold that the converse 

 may happen — that by the rolling indulged in after the 

 administration of a last dose of eserine, or under the 

 powerful muscular movements of the bowel wall this 

 drug induces, the displaced bowel happily rights itself, 



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