ON THE DISORDERS OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 121 



causes will eat dung, dirt, &c, and we are well aware that 

 eating straws, pebbles, and the like, is one of the most 

 marked signs of rabies. Again, small animals covered with 

 hair may be eaten, cured skins may be gnawed, or even (as 

 in a case recorded by Mr. Hill in the 'Veterinary Journal,' 

 vol. x, p. 79) human hair combings may be ingested. 

 These are felted by the peristaltic action of the stomach 

 and glued together by mucusj and thus " hair-balls " are 

 formed.* Indigestion, pure and simple, is generally the 

 result of rounded concretions ; if they be small they are 

 expelled by vomition or passed onwards into the bowels, 

 but if they be large they will give rise to chronic indiges- 

 tion j saline-calcareous aggregations, true gastric calculi, 

 are very rare in the dog. I will here mention observations 

 by Mr. Hunting as made at the Central Veterinary Society 

 at its Meeting on June 8th, 1882 ; he exhibited a small 

 stone and a cork which he had taken from the stomachs 

 of two dogs. The first was a small black and tan bitch, 

 which was suddenly seized with vomiting and convulsions. 

 Fits always followed the administration of solid food. 

 The stomach having been diagnosed as the seat of mischief 

 the patient was given Brand's essence of beef, as the only 

 nutriment allowed, and, medicinally, hydrocyanic acid and 

 bismuth trinitrate ; some improvement occurred, but the 

 animal was unable to take even beef -tea with a sediment 

 without vomiting and died in a few days. The cork was 



* Vol. iii of the ' Veterinary Journal ' contains » record of the case of a 

 valuable Esquimaux dog which was observed to be very dull, to hide in 

 corners, and lie on his belly with his hind legs apart ; pulse 150 and thready j 

 vomition ; nose hot and dry. On the evening of the following day symptoms 

 of braiu derangement set in, there was stiffness of gait, occasionally 

 ineffectual attempts at vomition were made, and a severe convulsive fit 

 occurred as night set in. On the third day the bowels had not acted, urine 

 passed involuntarily, and some tetanic symptoms were present. Towards 

 evening he crawled about on the belly, or hung back at the full length of his 

 chain. He died at 12 midnight, in a very strong convulsive fit. Autopsy 

 showed a cobble-stone, weighing about one ounce avoirdupois, lodged at the 

 pyloric end of the greater curvature, causing inflammation and engorgement 

 of the mucous membrane. Two pieces of white fibrous material, with a little 

 flesh attached at one end, and a bit of yellowish fat at the other (chorda? 

 tendinse probably) were found loose in the right ventricle. 



