INJURIES OF THE RECTUM. 
389 
fish-hook, which had passed through the entire digestive tract. Jansen 
found the skull of a foetus in a sow’s rectum ; the skull had, during 
parturition, penetrated from the vagina into the lectum. 
The anus is also liable to be injured during delivery. The 
perineum and, under certain circumstances, the sphincter ani may 
be simultaneously ruptured; in oxen, horn-thrusts are often respon¬ 
sible for these accidents. 
The course of such injuries depends principally on their seat and 
extent. Wounds penetrating the peritoneal cavity always end fatally; 
and those caused in mares and cows by pressure of the penis are nearly 
as dangerous, though a few cows have been seen to recover. On the 
other hand, sudden death attributable to shock has sometimes been 
noted. Mares usually die within twenty-four hours ; cows may survive 
longer. Passage of the penis into the rectum is not, however, always 
followed by rupture—injury depending chiefly on the degiee to which 
the rectum is filled with faces. Wounds from the clyster syringe 
generally end fatally, and particularly if drugs are at the same time 
injected into the peritoneal cavity. 
Injuries of the posterior portion of the rectum lying beyond the 
peritoneal cavity, though certainly not so dangerous as the above, are 
yet apt to lead to septic cellulitis in the connective tissue around the 
rectum (paraproctal connective tissue), which may be followed by fatal 
consequences. But Huppe’s case shows that in the horse even 
extensive injuries at this point may heal. Injuries of the vagina are 
less dangerous, though sometimes followed by formation of recto-vagina 
fistulse. . . , 
Diagnosis is at once settled by examination of the rectum, to which the 
colic, tenesmus, and blood-stained discharge draw attention. But befoie 
proceeding to thus determine the seat and extent of the injury, it should 
be ascertained whether manipulation of the parts has already been 
practised, and the owner should be informed of the possible existence of 
a fatal injury, so that the operator may not be suspected of having caused 
it. Complication with peritonitis is characterised by fever, small an 
frequent pulse, and slight but continuous colic, and in horses death occurs 
in a few days, often even in a few houis. 
Wounds of the anus are only grave if the sphincter or perineum is 
divided. If no difficulty occurs in closure of the anus, wounds of this 
kind heal easily and completely; only exceptionally does anal fistula 
result. The healing of ruptured perineum offers greater difficulty and, 
in mares, may result in sterility, but a cure is usually effected by suturing 
the wound early and cautiously, or even at a later period if the cicatrix 
bo freshened. 
Treatment. Treatment of perforating wounds of the rectum is seldom 
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