ON THE DISORDERS Of THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 125 



the anus. Treatment is seldom successful, for the inflam- 

 mation runs on quickly to gangrene, as denoted by cessa- 

 tion of pain and the supervention of all the symptoms of 

 collapse. It has been remarked by Mayhew that in this 

 disease there is a special disinclination to take any medi- 

 cines. Oases have been known in which intussusception 

 was relieved by means of laparotomy, surgical incision into 

 the abdomen and mechanical freeing of the bowel, and in 

 other cases the entangled piece has sloughed off and reso- 

 lution set in; but such cases are rare. Our first care 

 must be to determine by the history of the case or else by 

 digital exploration through the fundament, the cause of 

 inflammation. Enemata of warm water and soap must be 

 freely given, or when there is a tendency to accumulation 

 of hard faeces they must be broken down and removed 

 in the manner already indicated, and an enema of some 

 bland oil then given. No purgative must be resorted to 

 when the disease has fully established itself, except a full 

 dose of olive or other such oil, the tendency of which is 

 to act mechanically by admixture with hard faeces, and so 

 much of it as is digested and absorbed proves nutritive ; 

 also the stomach, though somewhat intolerant, will retain 

 it. Crude opium, chlorodyne, or Indian hemp must be 

 given internally to allay pain and to exert some sedative 

 influence on the circulation. A warm bath has proved 

 highly beneficial in such cases, and free fomentation, as also 

 application of linseed poultices to the belly, is indicated. 

 Blaine says : " Dogs are very liable to rheumatism, but 

 it is no less true than curious that a dog never has acute, 

 and seldom chronic rheumatism either, that is not accom- 

 panied, more or less, with inflammation of his bowels; 

 this connection of diseases is, however, as far as my expe- 

 rience goes, confined to the dog alone. In many cases 

 the bowels are the immediate and principal seat of the 

 rheumatism, which is productive of a peculiar enteritis, 

 easily distinguished by those conversant with the diseases 

 of dogs." In this, as in numbers of other conclusions, 

 Blaine's original observations have not been thoroughly 

 accepted by subsequent observers. 



