170 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS, 



hav cut too short (straw colics), also from considerable quantities 

 of wooden stems, of rye straw, from hard and ligneous clover, from 

 bearded wheat husks or from buckwheat, from bean stems, and in 

 general from food rich in cellulose, a substance which the horse 

 digests with difficulty. We also blame those alimentary matters 

 which are not stimulating enough ; again, the abrupt change from 

 a green to a dry diet, or the reverse. On the other hand, insuffi- 

 cient exercise when the animals a^re receiving abundant nourishment 

 favors coprostasis. Foals during the first days following their 

 birth frequently have colics due to accumulation of foetal meconium 

 in the intestine. 



Symptoms. The symptoms of these colics are usually not well 

 marked. The pains are moderate ; the animals remain down ordi- 

 narily ; at certain times they complain ; defecation is rare, and the 

 fecal masses are hard and dry, sometimes coated. In a rectal 

 exploration, during which the patients make violent expulsive 

 effi^rts, the intestine is found filled with hard stercoral matters. 

 The pressure exerted by the latter upon the bladder provokes 

 efforts of micturition ; the animals frequently stretch themselves 

 to urinate. The abdomen is more or less inflated ; the intestinal 

 reservoirs are distended by gases. Vomiting is rare. In many 

 horses the constipation may persist for several days without pro- 

 ducing any symptoms of colic (the same as in the dog), but after it 

 has lasted for some time, abdominal pains supervene. 



Pathological anatomy. The alterations consist in modifica- 

 tions of the contents of the stomach and of its walls. From the 

 start the alimentary matters dry up on account of the continual 

 resorption of the fluids, and then play the part of irritating foreign 

 bodies. The mucous membrane is soon invaded by a catarrhal 

 inflammation accompanied by numerous ecchymoses (hemorrhagic 

 catarrh); later, the inflammatory process may assume the character 

 of a diphtheria or necrosis. According to Ernest, diphtheritic 

 inflammation of the mucous membrane starts with dots or spots of 

 a grayish, yellowish -gray, or bluish color. Small bodies of a clear 

 shade appear upon the inflamed mucous membrane ; they are par- 

 ticularly noticed on special points of this membrane (papillary and 

 follicular diphtheria) the surface of which is covered with exfoliated 

 cells. These lesions are due to necrosis of the superficial layer of 

 the mucous membrane ; they are, as a rule, followed by small 

 ulcerations which form a more or less rapid cicatrix ; in some cases 



