LACERATED RECTUM OF A HORSE. 
375 
ing accelerated, and the membranes more injected; he pawed 
a good deal, looking back at his left flank, and had not passed 
any dung. I again emptied the rectum, which gave him 
immediate ease, threw up an enema, and gave Ol. Lini., ^viij. 
I went again in the evening, at half-past seven, and found 
him getting worse. He had eaten but very little during the 
day ; was constantly straining to pass his urine ; had fallen 
down once, but got up again >directly afterwards. As I 
could give the owner not the slightest hopes of a recovery, 
he ordered him to be destroyed. 
In a post-mortem examination, I found every organ in a per¬ 
fectly healthy condition, except the portion of the rectum I 
brought for your inspection. 
On further inquiry, I find from the groom that he has 
observed the horse give way a little when his master mounted 
him, otherwise he has never noticed anything amiss with 
him. If from this hurried description you can extract any¬ 
thing that you may think worthy of the pages of the Veteri¬ 
narian, I shall be pleased. 
REMARKS OK THE ABOVE CASE BY ASSIST.-PROE. VARNELL. 
Diseases of the rectum of the horse are comparatively of 
rare occurrence, and, so far as I am aware, there are but few 
cases recorded in veterinary literature. In the years 1837-8, 
at page 48, of the Abstract of Proceedings of the Veterinary 
Medical Association, Professor Simonds has described some 
cases in which the death of three horses took place from a 
pointed stake having been maliciously forced up the rectum; 
and there are a few other instances of laceration of the rectum 
to be found in the same work. 
Diseases of the pelvic portion of the alimentary canal 
especially, or, indeed, any other part of its course, whether 
they depend upon structural lesion or functional derange¬ 
ment, cannot be well understood unless the structure and 
physiology of the parts be duly considered. 
Laceration of the rectum may be either partial or complete, 
that is, the inner coat or coats may, either one or both, be 
lacerated; or it may be that all of them are torn quite 
through. When the latter is the case, it most often occurs 
from external violence. We have known such injuries to 
have taken place through the brutality of individuals inten¬ 
tionally forcing fork-shafts, broom-handles, or similar agents, 
up the rectum ; also by the accidental protrusion of foreign 
bodies into the same organ. We have likewise heard of its 
