174 ECTASIAS, DIVERTICULA, AND RUPTURES OF THE (ESOPHAGUS. 
Bulan d relates that a horse which had suffered from colic, with severe 
attacks of vomiting, was found to have the oesophagus ruptured close in front 
of its passage through the diaphragm. Leisering describes a diverticulum in 
a horse employed in transport duty, and which died from suffocation : 3 feet 
from the pharynx the distended oesophagus had a circumference of about 
16 inches, 8 inches lower the circumference was 12 inches, 13j inches 
higher it measured 12f inches; close in front of the cardiac opening was a 
second diverticulum. Griinwald saw a horse which died a day after suffering 
from a shivering and “ blowing ” attack. The post-mortem discovered a 
quantity of turbid fluid mixed with food in the thorax. The oesophagus was 
ruptured for 4J inches close in front of the diaphragm, and in front of this 
again was dilated for a distance of 16 inches, its walls being more than -J inch 
thick, and its circumference 6 inches. At the point of rupture the mucous 
membrane formed a cavity as large as a hen’s egg. This communicated with 
the rupture. Griinwald considered that an abscess had formed in the 
oesophageal wall and caused the rupture. But it also seems possible that the 
condition was a simple diverticulum. Harms, Hartenstein, and Boloff 
describe cases of oesophageal diverticula in cows; one detailed by Harms 
situated 2f inches in front of the rumen. 
The symptoms of these conditions bear a general resemblance to one 
another. Ectasise and diverticula are recognised by choking and a 
tendency to vomiting, usually appearing soon after taking food. Where 
the lesion is in the neck portion of the oesophagus, a swelling appears 
on the left side of the neck during feeding, which is not painful, or only 
slightly so, shows no inflammatory symptoms, but may be accompanied 
by salivation, choking, or attempts at vomiting, and usually disappears 
after one to two hours. Pressure on it produces symptoms of suffo¬ 
cation and attempts at vomiting., It is commonly more prominent after 
consumption of dry chaff than after hay or water. It may continue for 
a long time without impairing general health, but when large, especially 
if situated in the thoracic portion, or when distended with food, such 
swellings excite choking and vomiting or compress the trachea and 
produce dyspnoea. The horse described by Leisering, if smartly exer¬ 
cised, especially after feeding with hay, exhibited dyspnoea and cough¬ 
ing, which disappeared later. The animal eventually died from suffo¬ 
cation. Other cases have been described. The symptoms may continue 
for a long time without causing more than loss of condition and slowness 
in feeding, though the dyspnoea sometimes produces death, as shown by 
the cases reported by Leisering, Fuchs, and others. Finally, obstruc¬ 
tions may lead to mechanical pneumonia and death in consequence of 
interference with swallowing, as in Wagner’s case. 
In complete rupture of the oesophagus symptoms are produced similar 
to those of severe injury to the oesophagus. If in the cervical portion, 
they comprise emphysema in the neck and formation of abscesses, which 
by-and-by perforate and discharge pus mixed with food. These may 
heal like oesophageal wounds. Spontaneous healing in a cow is related 
by Schleg; but death may ensue from excessive burrowing of pus and 
