FOREIGN BODIES IN THE (ESOPHAGUS OF SWINE. 169 
tympanites result, as is frequent in cattle, the rumen must be punctuied 
to ward off suffocation. 
If the removal of the offending substance by the described methods 
fails, as is usually the case when it lies in the thoracic,portion, drench¬ 
ing with thick oily materials may be tried, if no difficulty in breathing 
exists. Caution, however, is necessary to prevent the fluid passing into 
the trachea and producing mechanical pneumonia. Small quantities 
must be given at a time and the animal watched, so that, ii coughing 
occurs, the administration may at once be stopped. After puncture of 
the rumen, it is desirable to wait for twelve to twenty-four hours foi 
softening and dispersal of the foreign body. Michalski gave a bull I 2 
grains of veratrine dissolved in 2^ drams of spirit subcutaneously, pro¬ 
ducing violent oesophageal spasms in fifteen minutes and the disappear¬ 
ance of the obstruction. Immelmann’s statements point to the possible 
usefulness of subcutaneous injections of pilocarpine, which provoke 
profuse salivation. Apomorphine favours oesophageal peristalsis and 
eructation, although this latter act is only produced exceptionally. 
Arecolin and eserin given hypodermically and chloride of barium intra¬ 
venously have also been recommended. 
(C) FOREIGN BODIES IN THE (ESOPHAGUS OE SWINE. 
When housed, swine are usually fed on boiled roots, carefully cut 
potatoes, or semi-fluid gruels, so that food rarely causes obstructions. 
But when roaming in great herds, and fed on uncut potatoes or otliei 
roots, pieces may stick in the pharyngeal pouch or in the oesophagus, and 
provoke symptoms similar to those in other animals. According to Lothes, 
foreign bodies in the pharyngeal pouch of swine produce difficulty rn swallow¬ 
ing, salivation, and a peculiar change in the voice ; instead of gruntmg, a 
shrill shrieking sound is produced, and if the subjects are in poor condition, 
the obstruction may be detected by palpation. Foreign bodres fixed m 
the oesophagus sometimes induce vomiting, and are thus ejected, but where 
long retained, tympanites develops, and death ensues from suffocation. 
Early assistance is necessary, but in pigs little can be done manually. 
If the obstruction is in the pharyngeal pouch, pressure must be exercised 
simultaneously on both sides directly over the regron of the larynx, 
and an effort made to push the contents of the pouch upwards into the 
pharynx. Where the foreign body is fixed in the top of the pharynx or 
just beyond it, Stockfleth advises that the pig be laid on a table, when 
removal may sometimes be made with a blunt hook, but if the object is 
deeper seated it may be pushed downwards with a flexible strck. Teetz 
removed a piece of broomstick 12| inches long from the upper part of a 
pig’s oesophagus. Apomorphine can be tried as an emetic; if this does 
