102 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS 



usually occur and from the absorption of toxins and bacteria 

 contained in the stationary fecal mass an intoxication or 

 infection of the patient may result. As a general proposition 

 gastro-abdominal pain appears suddenly, lasts for several 

 hours and ends in the recovery or death of the patient. 

 Occasionally, however, due to some organic lesion in the 

 bowel wall (stenosis, tumors^ ulcers or abscesses, diverticula, 

 dilatation of the cecum) or hernias or intestinal stones or 

 parasites, the symptoms of pain may last for several days 

 or weeks. They are, however, usually intermittent and 

 not continuous. 



Etiology. — In general those symptoms of pain in the horse 

 which were formerly designated "true colics" are due to 

 causes which may be classified under two groups: (!) 

 Predisposing, which may be either anatomical or patho- 

 logical, and (2) exciting or immediate causes. 



1. Predisposing Causes. — Anatomical. — To the ana- 

 tomical causes may be ascribed the peculiar anatomical 

 arrangement of the stomach and bowel in the horse. The 

 small stomach and peculiar implantation of the gullet which 

 make vomiting difficult, long mesentery, narrow ileocecal 

 opening, the pouch-like dilatation and funnel-like termina- 

 tion of the right upper colon, the pelvic flexure, and the 

 large cecum with both of its openings at the upper end, 

 are the principal anatomical factors which interfere with 

 the normal progress of the ingesta. 



Pathological. — Diseases of the digestive organs: for 

 instance, diseases and irregularities of the teeth, catarrh of 

 the mucosa of the stomach and bowels, internal abscesses, 

 paralysis with dilatation of the cecum or 'rectum, stenosis 

 of the ileum, tumors, hernias, enteroliths and animal parasites 

 in the bowel and bloodvessels. 



2. Exciting Causes. — The exciting causes of gastro- 

 abdominal pains are found chiefly in the food. Good food 

 if taken in too large quantities, food which is unfit (wet 

 straw), sudden changes from one kind of food to another, 

 food difficult to digest (rye, barley), food which is ferment- 

 ing (new hay, new oats, new corn) food infested with fungi, 

 or toxic plants, and feeding at irregular intervals are the 



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