608 
ON THE USE OF THE OMENTUM. 
In the horse, and all his tribe, this organ is small and delicate 
compared with what it is in other animals; and is, in ordinary 
cases, chiefly placed between the peritoneal surface of the greater 
curvature of the stomach on its sternal side, and the arch of the 
colon. In the ox, sheep, 8cc. it extends over the whole of the 
sternal—the most dependent surface of the paunch; and is in¬ 
terposed between the paunch and the abdominal parietes. In 
the dog and swine the omentum extends from the stomach over 
the whole of the inferior portion of the viscera, and is interposed 
between them and the inner surface of the abdominal parietes, 
similar to what is found in man. 
In all these animals the abdominal viscera differ considerably 
in their arrangement and magnitude, and have some variety in 
their action. In the horse, the stomach is remarkably small in 
proportion to the size of the animal. He feeds rapidly; the di¬ 
gestive process goes on quickly, and the stomach is, consequently, 
liable to frequent changes in its state of distention. The colon, 
which in the horse is as remarkably large as the stomach is small, 
makes a kind of double circle round the cavity of the abdomen, 
passing from the right iliac region forward, round, and to the left, 
then returning for some distance, and at that part of the arch of 
the colon upon which the stomach rests, is very large, and pre¬ 
sents a flattish surface, where the omentum is interposed between 
them, and at length terminates in the rectum. 
The colon rests entirely on the abdominal parietes, having 
none of the omentum interposed, unless when some morbid 
action has been produced. And, as already stated, it in these 
cases collects the foreign bodies which have been extravasated, 
the removal of such bodies tending evidently to diminish friction. 
Now, if the omentum has this power under a diseased action, 
may it not naturally be inferred, that it may, even in a healthy 
state, have this function assigned to it. But, if such were its 
functions, we might expect that in an animal like the horse, 
and all belonging to his class, we should find an omentum ex¬ 
tending over the abdominal parietes, as in the dog, swine, and 
their tribe. 
This, however, is not the case, because it is not required. The 
longitudinal bands, which are so conspicuous in these animals 
in the colon, are of a ligamentous structure, and seem to have 
no action of themselves ; but serve only to bind together the 
other coats of the intestines in a puckered form. The muscular 
fibres are attached to the longitudinal ligaments ; and as the 
ligaments remain almost entirely stationary, the muscular coat 
pushes the contents along by the alternate contraction and re¬ 
laxation of the fibres, without changing the portion of the intes- 
