106 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS 



and eserin are dangerous in that £hey may cause rupture of 

 the stomach. 



Simple Impaction of the Intestines. — Definition. — Simple 

 impaction of the bowel (obstipation) consists in an accumula- 

 tion of feces which obstruct the lumen of the bowel. After 

 a time the bowel surrounding the impacted mass loses its 

 tonicity, dilates and becomes paralyzed. 



Occurrence. — Simple impactions are very frequent in 

 horses. According to the records of the Berlin Clinics 

 75 per cent, of the cases of colic are due to this cause. The 

 frequency of this disorder, however, varies with the kind of 

 food and manner of feeding, so that these figures do not apply 

 to all parts of the world. For instance, in Budapest the 

 statistics show a much lower prevalency (6 to 20 per 

 cent.). 



Etiology. — The exciting causes of this form of colic are due 

 to feeding food rich in cellulose and wood fiber, the character 

 of this type of food requiring that large quantities be ingested 

 to supply nutrition. Straw, chaff, corn fodder, clover or 

 alfalfa which is not young and tender are therefore causes. 

 Overfeeding any sort of food may have a like effect. Foods 

 which contain a large amount of mineral matter or earth, 

 sand, etc., often lead to impaction (bran, barley, swamp 



Horses suffering from chronic gastro-intestinal catarrh, 

 and those with diseased teeth preventing proper masti- 

 cation are commonly victims. Old and very fat horses which 

 are not exercised sufficiently are predisposed. 



Impaction may also be secondary to pathological conditions 

 of the bowel (dilatation of the cecum, stenosis of the ileum, 

 paralysis of the rectum, enteroliths, worm parasites and 

 embolism) . 



Forms. — From the standpoint of diagnosis two forms of 

 simple impaction are distinguished: 

 Impaction of the small bowel. 

 Impaction of the large bowel. 



Impaction of the Small Bowel. — Diagnosis. — The 

 principal symptoms of this form of impaction are the sudden- 

 ness of the attack of colic which appears usually a few 



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