Retention of the Meconium 1041 



umbilic infection, its handling must necessarily be based upon 

 disinfection of the part. If we can accomplish the disinfection 

 by means of astringent remedies, we may aid materially in over- 

 coming the difficulty. The prognosis in these cases must be 

 based upon the severity of the umbilic infection, and follow the 

 general prognosis of that malady. 



The prognosis of persistent urachus, in general, must be based 

 upon its cause. If due to an imperforate urethra, the prognosis 

 will be dependent upon the possibility of overcoming the urethral 

 atresia. In one case, recently brought to our notice by a neigh- 

 boring practitioner, the urachus was still open in a colt aged one 

 year, and efforts to close it surgically, failed. 



Retention of the Meconium. 



During fetal life there accumulates, in the intestinal tube, a 

 mixture of epithelial debris and secretions from the glands con- 

 nected with the alimentary tract, especially from the liver, which 

 excrement is largely retained within the alimentary canal until 

 birth, though some of it is frequently found floating in the amni- 

 otic fluid. The appearance of meconium, in color and consis- 

 tency, varies somewhat according to species and individual. It 

 usually varies in color between yellow and a dark green or 

 greenish-black. In most new-born young, the meconium occurs 

 as a pasty mass, but in the foal it is frequently hard and dry, 

 and moulded into pellets by the floating colon and rectum. 

 The mass is found chiefly in the rectum and floating colon, but 

 may occupy the entire large colon and the caecum. 



Since the meconium in most animals occurs in the form of a 

 pasty mass, it is usually promptly expelled by the new-born 

 without difficulty, and leads to no complications. In the foal, 

 where it is hard and dry, it is not infrequently retained, and 

 may induce more or less serious disease, which, if not promptly 

 and efficiently handled, may lead to the death of the animal. 



Causes. Some claim that retention of the meconium usually 

 occurs in foals which are weak or poorly developed, but this we 

 have been unable to wholly corroborate, and have found it in 

 foals which to all appearances were strong and vigorous at the 

 time of birth, and would presumably have continued so had 

 proper oversight been given them at the time. In our expe- 

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