302 
DIAGNOSIS OF VENTRAL HERNIA. 
painful on pressure, and, in consequence of oedema, either firm or 
doughy ; if much blood has been poured out, there may be fluctuation. 
Older herniae fail to display such symptoms, but will be recognised by 
their compressibility, fluctuation, softness, varying size, &c. In the 
depths, the hernial opening may usually be felt as a round or elongated 
aperture. 
The swelling varies within wide limits; in small animals being often 
only the size of a pigeon’s egg, while in cattle and horses it may exceed 
Fig. 132.—Ventral hernia in a mare (from a photograph). 
that of a sugar loaf. In the horse the hernial swelling seldom exceeds 
the size of the clenched fist or, at the most, of a man’s head, but greater 
dimensions are occasionally reached, as in the case of the mare shown in 
fig 132. According to its position, it is termed hernia linese albae, hernia 
iliaca, or hernia perumbilicalis. The contents are usually formed by 
intestine or omentum, seldom by other abdominal organs. 
Differential diagnosis. Eecent cases may be mistaken for inflammatory 
swellings or haematomata in the abdominal walls. In those of old stand¬ 
ing the hernial aperture can always be discovered by palpation, provided 
accidental inflammatory processes are absent from the neighbourhood of 
