The Abdomen 171 



A peculiar case was recorded by Morey. He operatea and 

 withdrew from the bowel over six yards of cord, but found it im- 

 possible to extract the entire length from the distal side of the 

 opening he had made, even with energetic traction. He closed the 

 wound, hoping the remainder would be voided, but the animal suc- 

 cumbed forty-eight hours later from peritonitis, occasioned by two 

 perforations in the lesser curvature, which he believed were caused 

 by the sawing action of the cord occasioned by the peristalsis. 



n. Compression. This form of obstruction may arise by 

 (a), Direct compression of the gut, or (b) Indirectly by suspension 

 of peristalsis owing to arrest of the mesenteric circulation by com- 

 pression or torsion. Both these pathologic conditions may exist 

 together. 



(a) Obstruction by Direct Compression may be due to ad- 

 hesions or slits in the mesentery or omentum, occurring as the result 

 of traumatic influences, or following visceral operations. Wounds 

 of the bowel-wall, during the process of healing, invariably be- 

 come adherent to, and matted together, with neighboring coils, 

 omentum, and mesentery. This results in the formation of un- 

 natural flexures and curves, and even sharp angularities, and thus 

 are produced theoretically all conditions favorable to hindering and 

 obstructing the onflow of the contents. But, as a matter of fact, 

 such conditions rarely affect the bowel to such an extent as to 

 produce occlusion. The muscular coat of the dog's bowel is de- 

 veloped to a high degree, and seems especially able to overcome 

 obstructions of this nature. 



Reichel endeavored to produce occlusion experimentally by 

 sewing knuckles of bowel in the form of an S, but could not suc- 

 ceed. Nevertheless, a single sharp flexure is ca,pable of produc- 

 ing fatal obstruction. In one of my resection experiments where 

 successful reunion took place, adhesions formed between the line 

 of coalescence and one side of the wall immediately beyond, where- 

 by an acute flexure was developed. This, together with the stenosis 

 formed at the site of the operation, was sufficient to completely 

 occlude the lumen from the first, and death resulted in ten days' 

 time. I have also experienced a case of this kind where the in- 

 testine and uterine cornua became matted together in consequence 

 of peritonitis supervening on an oophorectomy operation. A great 

 amount of inflammatory fibrous tissue had developed, and this 



