946 NORTH OF ENGLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
animals, and most frequently in cart- or pit-horses. The animal 
suffers from repeated attacks of acute colic; and I know of one 
case where, during one of these attacks, a small calculi was passed, 
with faeces. Death from calculi is generally caused by it becoming 
fixed in a narrow part of the colon, causing complete obstruction to 
the passage of faeces. There is always inflammation, and sometimes 
even rupture of the bowel takes place. These cases seldom con¬ 
tinue longer than two or three days, and the symptoms are always 
acute. 
In those cases depending upon an impacted state of the colon, 
and following acute attacks of colic, and which appear to be refer¬ 
able to loss of muscular power in the bowels, the symptoms are all 
mild, the pulse keeps good, there is little or no tympanitis, and the 
countenance of the patient is cheerful. These cases may continue 
from three to seven days without any passage of faeces, and they 
may then pass in a natural state—no purging, although large doses 
of purgatives may have been given, and our patient, to the surprise 
of many, does well. 
I will now direct your attention to the different conditions in 
which, upon examination, we find the rectum ; in some it is dilated, 
and the hand and arm can be easily passed along, enabling us to 
feel the bladder-rim of the pelvis, and form some idea of the state of 
the colon and its contents; in other cases it is so tio-htlv contracted 
O •/ 
that the hand can only be introduced a short way, and that with 
difficulty, the colon feels to be forced backwards, and nothing can 
be made out distinctly. My experience leads me to think very 
gravely of these later cases. I have generally found them in those 
cases that have proved fatal, and in which there was complete 
obstruction from twist or displacement of the bowel. 
Having carefully examined our patient, and satisfied ourselves 
that we have got a case of obstructed bowel to contend with, the 
question naturally arises, ‘‘ What shall we do?” The first thing is 
to find out what has already been done, for you will remember 
that the patient has already been treated, either by ourselves or 
some one else—it may have been for colic, enteritis, or some other 
intestinal disease. Naturally we think of purgatives first—and here 
I would beg of you to remember that they carry with them life or 
death, depending upon the cause of the obstruction. In impaction 
of faeces from eating coarse food, or loss of muscular power, they 
are of the first importance and exceedingly valuable ; but should 
the obstruction be caused by a twdst or displacement of the bowel 
or impaction of calculus, they wfill aggravate all the symptoms, and 
hasten the death of the patient. If a purge has not been given, 
and we consider that it is a case requiring one, then give a full bold 
dose at once; aloes and oil are the two agents of most use; the 
former ought only to be given once and at the first, the latter may 
be repeated at any stage of the disease. With our purgatives it 
will be generally necessary to give some sedative or antispasmodic 
inedicines, depending upon the amount of pain the animal is suffer¬ 
ing ; I have most faith in opium, and I give such a dose as I think 
