THE THERAPEUTICS OF COLIC. 
467 
digestive fluids, thus encouraging the decomposition of the 
food which constitutes the essential factor in the disease. 
Hepatic stimulants, by increasing a flow of bile, stimulate 
healthy peristalsis and render the intestinal contents aseptic.. 
In the latter stages, frequently early in the disease, there 
is a marked tendency to diarrhoea which should be combated 
by demulcent gruels, carminatives and diffusible stimulants. 
In colic due to a prolonged deprivation of food we frequently 
find coincident fatigue. Opium and morphine are rarely, if 
ever, indicated, but rather carminatives and diffusible stimu¬ 
lants, such as aromatic spirits of ammonia, ginger, alcohol 
and nitrous either, in the form of a drench in large volumes 
of warm water or gruel. 
1 he patient should be kept as quiet and comfortable as 
possible. Heat applied to the abdomen by means of hot wet 
blankets may afford much relief. Purgatives are clearly in¬ 
admissible. 
In the colic of impaction in adult horses due to the inges¬ 
tion of food composed too largely of woody fibre, we are 
confronted with conditions requiring much time and not in¬ 
frequently great tact to remove. There is plenty of time so 
we need not hasten. Purgatives are almost universally pre¬ 
scribed, but the very drastic members of the class are clearly 
contraindicated, such as croton oil, gamboge, eserine and 
pilocarpine, but we must rely rather upon those cathar¬ 
tics which will slowly and gently soften down and render 
pultaceous the accumulated dry mass, when little, if any, 
stimulation to the peristaltic action will accomplish its expul¬ 
sion. The impaction generally occurs too far forward to ren¬ 
der enemata of avail. Aloes serves the purpose fairly well, 
but large and repeated doses of the bland oils do better, and 
better still, perhaps, one moderate dose of aloes combined 
with oil, the latter to be repeated frequently. The formation 
of gases rarely occurs. The pain is seldom severe and calls 
for remedial treatment but rarely. 
When relief from pain becomes necessary, aconite, bella¬ 
donna or cannabis indica should be used, or, if used with great 
caution, morphine may be employed in doses of one-third to 
