128 INTERRUPTED DILATATION OF THE DUODENUM. 
Tuesday the 26th December, I was requested to visit a 
valuable entire colt, rising two years old, for what was consi- 
dered an attack of “ gripes/ 5 The person who came for me 
said, that he had found the animal lying down in the field 
when he went to look at the horses in the morning : he, there- 
fore, brought him down to the farm buildings, and wished me 
to see him. Upon my arrival I found the following symptoms 
present. Pulse scarcely perceptible at the jaw, but beating 95 
at the heart ; extremities of a deathlike cold ; respiration quick 
and laborious ; the animal occasionally showing symptoms of 
pain, by pawing with his fore feet, looking back at his sides, 
lying down his whole length, and rolling over upon his 
back; he would then rise, walk several times round his 
box, and the above symptoms would be again manifested. 
Whilst standing, he would now and then make efforts at 
vomition, which w 7 ere followed by a discharge of fluid from 
both nostrils, very much mixed with masticated food, such 
as hay-chaff and light oats, such being the food the 
animal was allowed besides grass. The quantity of the 
ingesta discharged, became much greater when the animal 5 s 
head was depressed. There was no particular distension of 
the bowels apparent, nor did the pain at any time seem very 
violent. The treatment that was adopted consisted in the 
employment of purgatives with stimulants, &c. Externally 
counter-irritants were had recourse to, no hope being held 
out to the owner of recovery. Upon making an examination 
by the rectum, I could distinctly feel a hardened mass, which 
was placed above the gut, but it did not appear to interrupt 
the passage of my hand in the regular tract, for I removed 
several pieces of hardened dung, which were very much 
covered with mucus. The animal lived only six hours after 
my first visit. 
Post-mortem examination . — Upon opening the abdomen, 
I was very much surprised at the small amount of discolora- 
tion, while the distension was great. The bowels only here 
and there presented patches of inflammatory action upon 
their peritoneal covering, but the internal or mucous coat was 
very much more discoloured. The stomach itself was 
enormously distended with food, and the duodenum presented 
a very peculiar appearance, being filled with fluid and portions 
of aliment, which distended this intestine to nearly twice its 
usual calibre, and about six inches from the stomach this gut 
had two large pouches formed by the distension of its coats, 
arising from the presence of such a large quantity of the con- 
tents, causing almost a rupture. Following the course of this 
distended intestine for about five feet, I came at a hardened 
