48 Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of the 
The operator should always proceed steadily, and not go hastily 
or roughly to work, for with the greatset care the gullet will some- 
times be injured, and the animal be rendered nearly valueless. 
The relief which immediately follows the removal of the root 
affords the best evidence that no injury has been done, for, should 
the patient experience but little mitigation of the symptoms, or 
should the instrument when withdrawn be found to be tinged 
with bh)od, we have sure proofs that the oesophagus is lacerated. 
Under such circumstances it is better to destroy the animal, for, 
although slight lesions of the gullet will heal, still even these 
are generally followed by stricture. 
Two assistants at least will be required in all cases of choking : 
one of these should be placed on either side of the animal, holding 
the handle of the gag which protrudes from the side of the mouth 
with one hand, and the opposite horn with the other. They 
must also keep the head elevated, so as to bring it as near as 
possible in a straight line with the neck (see fig. 1 1). Some 
practitioners drench the patient with oil prior to using the probang ; 
we, however, object to this as being not only unnecessary, but likely 
to cause mischief by the fluid passing into the windpipe, and for the 
same reason we condemn the common practice of dosing a choked 
beast with salt and water, or other irritating agents. Cases 
offering more than an ordinary amount of resistance should be 
committed to the care of the veterinary surgeon, who will adopt 
many expedients which we cannot speak of in a lecture of this 
description, our chief object being to lay down simple and broad 
rules for your guidance. 
We will now offer some remarks on Acute Tympanitis, or, as 
it is generally called. Hove. This disease may occur at any 
period of the year, if cattle are subjected to a sudden alteration 
of diet ; it however takes place more often in the spring and 
autumn. Oxen after confinement to the straw-yard during the 
winter months will be found, if at once they are turned into 
luxuriant grass, to greeddv devour the herbage ; over distention 
of the rumen is thus produced, which is quickly followed by 
tympanitis. A similar derangement of the digestive function 
will likewise happen when cattle are first put to turnips in the 
autumn. One or other of these circumstances is the more frequent 
origin of the affection, and therefore greater care should be exer- 
cised in the management of the animals at these particular 
times. 
Rapid gathering of the food is necessarily associated with both 
imperfect mastication and insalivalion, and, besides these causes 
of impaired digestion, the sudden repletion of the rumen weakens 
or suspends its ordinary peristaltic action ; hence the aliment goes 
into a state of fermentation. Or we may explain the phenomenon 
by saying that, the laws of vitality being interfered with, those of 
