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DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



violent colics, without any previous indigestion. These attacks 

 persist from six to twelve hours, then disappear abruptly and 

 entirely, as if cured. But the depression and broken-down condi- 

 tion, as well as inappétence, cessation of rumination, diarrhea, or 

 the expulsion of small quantities of dry fecal matter, indicate the 

 persistence of the trouble. The constipation becomes obstinate and 

 does not yield to any purgative. Under the action of violent ex- 

 pulsive efforts on the part of the animal, thick mucus, often mixed 

 with dark blood, escapes through the anus. The peristaltic move- 

 ments are completely suppressed, and the abdomen becomes gradu- 

 ally distended by the accumulation in the intestine of gases which 

 are formed there in abundance. On palpation we may detect an 

 intense sensitiveness of certain regions. The pulse is small and 

 accelerated, but the temperature is hardly increased ; sometimes it 

 is even lower than normal. The body is cold, the patients are 

 apathetic and in a comatose condition. We can recognize the in- 

 vagination by rectal exploration ; the hand perceives a cylindrical 

 enlargement, more or less extended, along the course of the in- 

 testine. 



Course. This is generally slow, and death is, with very rare 

 exceptions, the inevitable termination of the affection ; it takes 

 place in a calm manner, without struggles ; ordinarily from the 

 sixth to the ninth day, rarely before the fourth or after the 

 fifteenth. 



E-ecovery is exceptional ; it may be produced by the elimination 

 of the invaginated segment and the peritoneal union of the ends. 

 In a few cases we have observed the expulsion of a cylindrical 

 slough through the anus. 



Diagnosis. Sudden colics followed by an apparent calm, per- 

 sistent constipation, the expulsion of bloody mucus from the anus, 

 arrest of intestinal bruits, sensibility of the abdomen, especially 

 marked upon the right side, the existence upon the intestine of an 

 elongated tumefaction, also the duration of the disease and its pro- 

 gressive aggravation, are facts sufficiently helping to establish the 

 diagnosis. Let us point out that the left kidney holds a relatively 

 low position in the abdominal cavity ; when making rectal ex- 

 ploration, we must avoid taking it for an abnormal production. 



Treatment. The treatment must be exclusively surgical. Pur- 

 gatives, exercise upon irregular ground, etc., are very unreliable 

 means. In order to find the lesion, we must make a laparotomy 



