CASE OF RUPTURE OF THE RUMEN. 585 
About five o’clock p.m., a messenger was sent to inform me 
that the patient was evidently much worse, and that the owner 
feared, unless some relief was soon obtained, death would 
quickly take place. On my visit I found the animal down, 
and all the symptoms greatly aggravated. The respiration 
was difficult, and at intervals eructations of gaseous matter 
from the rumen took place, which w r ere accompanied with 
the escape of fluid ingesta from the nostrils. Feeling satis¬ 
fied as to the correctness of my former diagnosis, and that 
no medical treatment could be of any avail; I waited for 
about a quarter of an hour, when death closed the scene. 
Post-mortem examination .—The whole of the abdominal 
cavity was found to be filled with fluid ingesta, which had 
escaped from a rupture of the rumen. The peritoneum was 
inflamed throughout. With these exceptions no other disease 
was to be detected. 
A SECOND CASE OF RUPTURE OF THE RUMEN. 
By the Same. 
June 28th, 1864, I was summoned to attend a young 
heifer, which a day or two before had been turned into a field 
of clover, and greatly engorged her rumen by ravenously 
partaking of it. On the ordinary symptoms of tympanitis 
showing themselves, the man in charge, being one of those 
who can never avoid giving their opinion and advice, and 
backing these up by skilful (?) attention to the animal, drove 
the heifer furiously about the pasture, when, to use his ex¬ 
pression, (i she seemed to get well in a moment.” Shortly 
afterwards, however, the animal appeared dull and listless, 
but still no notice was taken of these and other symptoms 
which supervened until the morning of the third day after¬ 
wards, when fluid ingesta was vomited by the nostrils. It 
was in consequence of this that I was sent for, and on my 
' arrival I found the animal in articulo mortis . She only lived 
ten minutes after I first saw her. 
On making & post mortem examination I found a rupture of 
the rumen, through which nearly the whole of the ingesta 
had escaped into the abdominal cavity. 
I may remark that I have not forwarded these cases from 
any particular novelty attaching to them, for there are many 
xxxvn. 38 
