SWALLOWING AN IRON SKEWER. 563 
viscus becomes enlarged, hepatized, tuberculated, and the 
foundation is laid for ascites. 
It is curious and useful to compare the different accounts of 
the same disease in various localities, and the opinions adopted 
and the treatment recommended by various practitioners. 
THE INTRODUCTION OF AN IRON SKEWER INTO 
THE STOMACH OF A DOG. 
By M. Vis A MONDE, of Narbonne. 
A POINTER dog, three years old, entered his master’s kitchen, 
and, approaching the chimney, swallowed an iron skewer to 
which some meat was attached that was then roasting before the 
fire. The owner, uneasy as to the consequences which would 
result from the almost inevitable perforation of either the stomach 
or intestines, closely watched the animal. During the whole of 
that day he was full of spirits, and ate and drank as usual. 
Two days after the accident the dog accompanied him on a 
shooting expedition, and he then seemed to exhibit unequivocal 
signs of pain, but only when he was going down hill. 
On the following day, Feb. 13, 1836, the pain was evident, 
and very intense. The animal frequently stopped, and howled, 
looking piteously at his flanks and belly. His appetite and cou¬ 
rage now began to fail him. 
On the 14th an enlargement half as large as a man’s thumb 
was visible on the anterior part of the abdomen, immediately be¬ 
hind the xiphoid cartilage, and emollient applications were made 
to the part. Daring the succeeding night the swelling very much 
increased, and, on laying hold of the dog for the purpose of ex¬ 
amining him, the owner was surprised to see the sharp point of 
the skewer protruding from the centre of the tumour. An inci¬ 
sion was made through the skin, and the iron readily with¬ 
drawn. 
A little attention was paid to his feeding : he was kept on 
broth and milk—some mucilaginous injections were adminis¬ 
tered— the wound was washed twice in the day with a little 
warm wine—and in a very few days a perfect cure was accom¬ 
plished. 
It was not until the meat by which the skewer was surrounded 
had been digested that the skewer could pass through the py¬ 
loric orifice of the stomach, or penetrate through its tunics, and 
