912 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
Through this opening a pair of retractors held open the mus¬ 
cle wound and enabled us to quite easily draw the bowels back 
from point of sheath and pass them into the abdomen. 
The wounds were carefully sutured, treated antiseptically and 
bandage applied. For three or four days there was loss of ap¬ 
petite and apparent colicy pains, but after that, except a slight 
soreness, shown by disinclination to walk, no symptoms of sick¬ 
ness were shown. The abdominal wound healed readily, with 
practically no pus, while the skin wound suppurated, sloughing 
out all the stitches, but now, three months after the accident, 
you could not tell the animal had ever been injured. 
Case III .—Heavy bay mare, ten years old, was turned Sunday 
into a feed lot containing some cattle racks, made of 4x4 corner 
posts and boards. Next morning one of these racks was found 
broken and the mare had several places with the hair knocked 
off, but no actual wound. During the day a swelling developed 
at the lower part of right flank, gradually extending down¬ 
wards and forwards. The owner was sick in bed at the time, 
so not much attention was given to the mare, although the 
hired man daily reported that the swelling was becoming larger 
and extending farther, but she was feeding well. Friday she 
ate her breakfast, but refused dinner, was constantly looking at 
the flank and lying down and getting up ; and we were called. 
Found enormous swelling extending from breast to pubes, and 
most prominent at lower part of right flank. Examination 
showed swelling to be cedematous ; so several punctures 
were made, from which serum flowed freely; but we were in 
doubt as to the cause of the extra enlargement at the flank, as 
that was oedeinatous as well as the rest ; and external manipula¬ 
tion revealed nothing. On examination per rectum bowels 
could readily be traced out through a rent in the abdominal 
muscles, but no amount of traction would draw any back. 
Animal was cast, securely confined, etc. An incision about 
eight inches long was made over the enlargement, down¬ 
wards and forwards ; infiltration of serum was fully two inches 
thick before we came upon the imprisoned bowel; a loop of 
small intestine not exceeding four or six inches in length and 
black as tar, held thereby bands of fibrin. Animal was immed¬ 
iately shot. There was a rent through the small oblique about 
three inches long and through the large oblique about five 
inches long, through both of which passed the loop of intestines, 
and the X action of the fibres of these two muscles held the 
bowel, shut off blood supply and mortification had almost sepa- 
