294 
INGUINAL HERNIA IN RUMINANTS. 
hand introduced into the rectum. But under no circumstances should 
operation be attempted until every effort to effect taxis has failed. For 
this purpose the same measures may be adopted (casting, dorsal position, 
narcosis) as in true inguinal herniae. Should herniotomy prove abso¬ 
lutely necessary, the scrotum is cautiously opened under antiseptic 
precautions. After dividing the skin and tunica dartos, the hernial 
contents appear, and must be protected from soiling by cloths dipped in 
disinfecting fluids. The hernial opening is then sought for with the 
index finger, which is guided by the processus and the hernial contents; 
and should it prove impossible to dilate the ring with the finger, and 
return the intestine to the abdominal cavity, the opening must be 
widened with a herniotome, after which taxis becomes easy. An attempt 
may then be made to suture the abdominal ring with sterilised catgut or 
silk. The skin is closed with numerous button sutures, the surround¬ 
ings of the wound cleansed, dusted with iodoform, and covered with a 
dressing, as after castration of cryptorchids. Moller states that, in the 
case of cryptorchids, sutures of the kind described may be inserted 
in the inguinal canal. Lund operated on an interstitial inguinal hernia 
with success ; but Hering noted prolapse of the bowel, and death after 
operation. 
(3.) INGUINAL HERNIA IN RUMINANTS. 
Inguinal hernia is rare in ruminants, and only a few recorded cases 
exist. Youatt saw it in a steer, Loble in an ox, Hess in a calf, Rychner 
in a cow, Lafosse in a male goat, and Lenguenard in a lamb. 
The symptoms and course of the disease are similar to those in 
horses, though the condition is far less grave than in the latter—the value 
of the animal not being diminished to the same extent, and it being 
possible, even where the hernia has become incarcerated, to slaughter 
without very great loss. 
Treatment is much as above described. Should the hernia become 
strangulated, Loble’s method of operating through the right flank may 
be tried. He thrust the ox against a wall, cut through the skin and 
muscle below the external angle of the ilium, passed the hand into the 
abdominal cavity, and found a double loop of intestine strangulated in 
the left inguinal canal. As this could neither be freed, nor could a 
finger be introduced into the inguinal canal, Loble inserted a straight 
bistoury (whose point was guarded with a strip of plaster), holding 
it between the index finger and thumb, and thus enlarged the abdo¬ 
minal ring. A tenotome is recommended for this purpose, which should 
be fastened by a cord, so as not to be lost in the abdominal cavity. After 
freeing the bowel the abdominal wound was sutured, and recovery 
