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TREATMENT OF PROLAPSE OF THE ANUS. 
Death is generally due to the consequences of complete obstruction 
of the bowel acting on animals which are already weakened. Only 
exceptionally has rupture of the paraproctal connective tissue and pro¬ 
lapse of other portions of the bowel been seen; it is differentiated from 
prolapse of the rectum by the surface of the protruded bowel exhibiting 
a serous covering. 
It requires no particular demonstration to show that prolapsus ani 
involves less danger than prolapsus recti, especially when the latter is 
complicated with invagination, and though spontaneous healing some¬ 
times occurs, by the necrotic portion of bowel sloughing, it is very 
exceptional. Prolapses of the anus are most easily healed, when they 
have persisted for a short time only, and the mucous membrane of the 
protruding part is not much altered. Should prolapsus recti be com¬ 
plicated with invagination, and have existed for several days, reposition 
becomes impossible, because the peritoneal surfaces have already become 
either adherent or united. 
Herbivora withstand the condition far better than carnivora. In dogs, 
invagination is very general, and the commonest subjects are weakly 
animals, or those whose constitutions have been lowered by continued 
diarrhoea, as Haubner has already noted. Pigs hear prolapse better, 
and the larger animals still less frequently die of it. Horses and oxen 
generally recover completely, though Tetzner saw a horse with prolapsus 
recti die with symptoms of colic; the post-mortem showed the cause to 
be a leiomyoma. 
Treatment. In recent prolapse the mucous membrane is cleansed 
and replaced by regular and steady pressure with the hand, or in small 
animals with a finger. Sometimes this requires to be repeated, and the 
owner or attendant may he instructed how to carry it out. Tenesmus 
is combated by clysters of mucilaginous or oily fluids, containing, if 
needful, opium; cocain may also be worthy of trial. Diarrhoea must be 
treated by suitable diet and internal medication. ‘Should the prolapsed 
mucous membrane be swollen, scarification and bathing with such 
astringents as 2 to 5 per cent, alum solution will facilitate reposition. 
Continued recurrence or structural change in the mucous membrane 
may necessitate surgical removal of the protruded part. 
The procedure is the same in simple prolapsus recti, but prolapsus 
recti with invagination offers greater difficulty. In such case reposition 
must he effected as soon as possible, for the longer prolapse exists, the 
greater the difficulty and the less the chance of success, though even in 
these cases cure is occasionally effected. Larsen immediately reduced a 
prolapse, about 32 inches in length, which occurred during the castration 
of a horse, caused an assistant to keep the anus closed, and completed 
the interrupted operation. When the animal rose, the prolapse had 
