192 Surgical Diseases and Surgery of the Dog 



as a means of inducing evacuation of fecal accumulations or foreign 

 bodies retained in the lower bowel; for the purpose of applying 

 disinfectant and astringent medicaments directly to the mucosa 

 in diseased conditions; and for administering nutritive media 

 when food cannot be taken through, or retained in, the natural 

 channels. 



As a defecatory aid it acts in two ways, viz., by softening and 

 disintegrating fecal matter and by distending the wall of the bowel 

 whereby the latter is stimulated to contract. For large and medium 

 sized breeds a bulb-syringe should be used to give the injections, the 

 "alpha" or "omega" makes being preferred, as they permit of a 

 continuous stream being thrown with varying degrees of force. 

 Fountain syringes unless elevated to a height lack the requisite 

 force. When it is desired to direct a stream beyond an obstruction, 

 the rectal scoop described under Coprostasis may be substituted for 

 the ordinary hard-rubber nozzle. For toy dogs and puppies the 

 rectal syringe for infants is to be preferred. Luke-warm soapy 

 water forms the best preparation where economy is necessary. 

 Equal parts of glycerine and water and olive oil are sometimes 

 employed with advantage. The quantity of fluid sufficient to dis- 

 tend the rectum and colon varies between one-quarter of a pint 

 in the smallest animals and one pint in the largest. If a- larger 

 quantity is used it will pass the ileo-cecal valve and traverse the small 

 bowel, and if in sufficient amount will reach the stomach. 



In most animals the ileo-cecal valve is patent, but where it is 

 not, it effectually prevents the passage of fluids, even if the latter 

 be forcibly injected. I have established by experiment that one-half 

 a gallon of water is sufficient to traverse the whole extent of the in- 

 testines and reach the stomach, in a fox terrier, and a little over a 

 gallon to have the same effect in a setter. It must, however, be 

 remembered that where a solid fecal obstruction is being attacked 

 a continuous stream should, of course, be kept up, as it escapes by 

 the anus as fast as it is thrown in. 



Medicated injections employed for their local effect on in- 

 flammatory conditions of the intestinal mucosa may be advantage- 

 ously used in quantities somewhat larger than those used to merely 

 unload the bowel. Or, a preferable way is to carry out a veritable 

 irrigation of the bowel by means of an inlet and outlet tube, the 

 latter being attached to a fountain syringe in this case. The irri- 



