126 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



are accompanied by evident signs of suffering and provoke com- 

 plaints. 



The animals are very sensitive to pressures made upon the retic- 

 ulum ; according to Ellenberger and Schaaf, the locality where the 

 exploration ought to be made is situated upon the lower wall of 

 the abdomen, somewhat to the left of the xiphoid appendix of the 

 sternum ; frequently, also, pressures upon the sternum, the thorax^ 

 the withers, or the rumen produce more or less- severe suffering. 

 In cases where the diaphragm is inflamed, percussion on the level 

 of its peripheral edge is also painful ; we may observe circumscribed 

 dulness in front of its line of insertion (abscess, granulous neofor- 

 mations) ; its contractions at the time of inspiration or defecation, 

 and also the opposite movement performed during expiration, are 

 very painful to the patient. Thus defecation is performed as much 

 as possible without abdominal muscular exertions ; it takes place 

 at infrequent intervals, and an increased accumulation of excre- 

 ment in the rectum results from it. When the foreign body has 

 injured an important vessel, blood may be seen to escape through 

 the anus. 



The sharpness of the foreign body very often enables it to per« 

 forate the walls of the stomach and penetrate into the peritoneal 

 cavity, or into the diaphragm, sometimes the liver, etc. ; and this 

 is due to the contractions of the reticulum, to the peristaltic move- 

 ments of the stomach, and to the action of the diaphragmatic 

 muscle. The efforts of parturition help the progression of the 

 foreign body to a great extent. In all these cases we observe^ 

 besides the described gastric symptoms, some manifestations an- 

 swering to superadded alteration, which may be carditis, pneumonia^ 

 pleurisy, pneumothorax, enteritis, peritonitis, hepatitis, etc. The 

 foreign body is sometimes directed against the skin ; it provokes an 

 inflammatory tumefaction under the integument, the meaning of 

 which may be recognized immediately at this period of the disease; 

 it is a very variable phlegmon in its dimensions, which occasionally 

 attain the size of a man's head ; its most frequent location is the 

 lower part of the left hypochondrium ; it may, however, appear on 

 the right, or back of this region in the neighborhood of the um- 

 bilicus or mammary gland. This abscess is remarkable by its 

 slight sensibility. It bursts suddenly and discharges a bloody pus 

 mixed with alimentary matters and sometimes sand. The foreign 

 body may be extruded at the same time. In following the fistulous 



