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J. M. PHILLIPS. 
16. Retention of urine, from enlargement of prostate 
glands, cystitis or urethral calculi, excessive accumulation of 
foeces in the rectum. 
17. Aneurism. 
18. It is also claimed that when the spleen is enormously 
enlarged it can be detected per rectum. 
With this list of about twenty different diseases which have 
been diagnosed, or a diagnosis verified by rectal examination, 
nearly all of which produce symptoms of abdominal pain, do 
you wonder at the assertion of Prof. Williams? 
The remainder of the time allotted to me this evening I 
will devote to relating two cases in practice. I shall have to 
be very brief. The time will not allow me to enter into or 
relate cases of all the diseases enumerated above, but I must 
crave your indulgence inasmuch as the few remarks on them 
are principally of a practical nature and have been put to¬ 
gether during a few hours in the evenings of the past few 
days. 
It was several cases of scrotal hernia and two cases of mis¬ 
placement of the coecum that Dr. S. E. Phillips and I diag¬ 
nosed by rectal examination and treated per rectum, that 
suggested this subject to me. 
The first case of misplacement of the coecum came to us 
on May 20, 1889. It was a large brown mule about twelve 
years old. He had been led behind a wagon a distance of 
about nine miles. His temperature 1055°, P u l se 100, much 
prostrated, mucous membranes livid. The owner told us that 
the mule was taken with colic about eight day's ago and he had 
been running down in flesh ever since, till he began to think 
he would soon die, so he thought he had better bring him in 
and see if a horse doctor could do anything for him. 
In answer to the question of “ What have you given the 
mule ? ” He said : “ After we got him over the hard spell at 
the beginning, we saw he was still uneasy and was not having 
any passages, so we gave him a quart of raw linseed oil and 
waited twelve hours; then gave him another pint and waited 
about a day again and gave him a pound of salts, and later on 
some more salts. When that didn’t work we gave some melted 
