354 
TUMOURS IN THE RECTUM AND ANUS. 
favour wound drainage. Roupp passed a lead wire through a “ complete ” 
rectal fistula, drew one end back through the anus, and laid open the 
fistula by daily tightening the wire about an inch. Novotny secured 
healing in one case by drainage. Roder sutured a recto-vaginal fistula 
but only obtained partial union. Short recto-vaginal fistula may 
sometimes be closed by passing a seton; the larger lying near the 
vulva may he sutured. This treatment failing, they generally prove 
incurable. 
YIII.—TUMOURS IN THE RECTUM AND ANUS. 
In dogs fibromata, sarcomata, carcinomata, and adenomata are not 
infrequently seen in the paraproctal connective tissue; while horses, 
particularly those of a grey colour, suffer most from melano-sarcomata 
and melano-carcinomata. Various tumours are also found in the rectum. 
Ivitt saw many cases of mucoid polypi of which several sloughed away, 
and on examination revealed the presence of Lieberkuhn’s glands. Kitt 
theiefore regarded them as oedematous folds of mucous membrane 
{plicce polyposes). He also saw adenomata, adeno-carcinomata, and true 
carcinomata. According to his view the sarcomata originate in the 
lymph follicles of the rectum. Scott endeavoured to remove from 
beneath the sacral region a sarcoma which interfered with defecation ; 
death from septicaemia resulted. Teetz saw cysts and pedunculated 
polypi in horses, Carogeau collections of varicose veins in dogs. 
Symptoms and course. Tumours near the anus and close below the 
skin may be directly seen and felt, but the veterinary surgeon is seldom 
called in until stenosis or displacement of the rectum or anus sets in and 
interferes with defecation. Tumours in the posterior portion of the 
rectum sometimes protrude during defecation, and occasionally cause 
prolapsus ani. When further forward, they are either accidentally 
discovered in examining the rectum, or the continuous and gradually 
increasing disturbance in defecation draws attention to them. 
Manual examination determines their size, form, and position; 
sometimes the rectal or vaginal speculum is useful. 
Inflammatory swelling of the anal glands, common in dogs, may be 
mistaken for tumour formation, though the local pain sufficiently indi¬ 
cates its nature. Rectal and anal tumours, especially when malignant, 
are often accompanied by secondary growths and swelling of the lymph 
glands in the abdomen. 
Prognosis depends chiefly on the difficulty of extirpating the 
tumour. Not only must the nature of the new growth, and its position 
and size, be boine in view, but the question whether secondary growths 
or infection of lymph glands has occurred must be considered. Tumours 
