644 
RE-ABSORPTION OF PUS IN STRANGLES. 
Then the laceration through the mucous coat—there will 
rarely be any through the cuticular coat—will, from the pecu¬ 
liar construction of that coat, be very considerably smaller 
than in the muscular tunic; so that, notwithstanding all these 
shreds and patches, the openings for the escape of the food 
into the abdomen will not always be very extensive. 
But suppose that they are so, then comes the admirable but 
mysterious provision of nature for the prevention of the escape 
of that into the abdomen which would produce great inflam¬ 
mation, or, probably, death. The stomach is occasionally per¬ 
forated ; but the liver, or the spleen, or the diaphragm, strangely 
oppose themselves to the chasm, and the process of digestion 
goes on undisturbed. Some intestine is perforated. A fold of 
the omentum, or some strangely directed portion of the mesen¬ 
tery, presents itself at the orifice, and prevents the abdomen 
from being deluged with extraneous matter. 
But, after the stomach has been ruptured to a considerable 
extent, and its contents have been poured into the abdomen, 
the appetite will, to a certain extent, continue for awhile, and 
the horse eat and drink almost as before. In the Abstract 
of the Proceedings of the Veterinary Medical Association’^ 
(page 108), a case in point is recorded. It happened in my 
own practice.—A horse, belonging to my old and valued me¬ 
dical friend, Mr. Millington, was in my stable on account of 
a severe pulmonic complaint. While something was doing to 
him, he slipped up and came down with great force. He got 
up, but it was easy to perceive, very soon afterwards, that 
some considerable mischief had been done. There was a 
strangely haggard countenance; the pulse was almost imper¬ 
ceptible; the legs were cold; the horse could scarcely be in¬ 
duced to move. A day passed, and the bowels had not been 
moved. I administered a dose of physic, and it operated. 
On the third day, the horse dropped, and died. On ex¬ 
amination after death we found an extensive rupture of the 
stomach. The liver had acted as a kind of valve. Between it 
and the stomach there were several distinct layers of impacted 
food, and the stomach was still distended with food, for the 
horse had several times eaten a little hay and mash between the 
time of his fall and his death. The edges of the rupture had 
the dull and sodden appearance of an old wound. There was 
comparatively little fluid in the abdomen. 
This was a case like that of Mr. Hayes, which will indeed 
comparatively seldom happen, but which are illustrations of a 
wise and benevolent provision against not merely trifling, but the 
mostserious injuries of the organs especially connected with life. 
