442 
DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
of the intestinal tract is likely to cause any systemic disturb¬ 
ance, it should be removed by making an incision into the in¬ 
testine. 
(c) Foreign Bodies in the Intestine. —The foreign bodies 
found in the intestinal tract of domestic animals vary in differ¬ 
ent species: those common to the horse are calculi, sand, 
broken nails, tacks, and small pebbles, to which we may add 
intestinal worms that accumulate and form bunches or balls 
which act as foreign bodies. The intestinal calculus is a chemi¬ 
cal compound composed of the phosphates and carbonates of in¬ 
soluble bases, which accumulates around some mucleus, and is 
enlarged by the continual deposition of these salts. Sand often 
accumulates in the intestinal tract of herbivora, and is taken 
into it with the water, grass or hay ; in some animals it is 
taken into the digestive tract by eating dirt, an aberration of 
appetite (pica) ; and, in other instances it is due to a depraved 
appetite. Small pieces of nails, tacks and pebbles are often 
swallowed with the food. 
The foreign bodies found in the intestinal tract of the ox 
are bezoars, hair balls, sand, clay, rags, leather, and pieces of 
wood, glass, crockery, tile, together with all kinds of rubbish ; 
and, most invariably, these articles are taken into the aliment¬ 
ary tract as a result of an aberration of appetite. 
In the dog, the foreign bodies found in the intestinal tract 
are bones and such objects with which it plays. It is not un¬ 
common to find marbles, pebbles, nails, balls, coins, corks, 
sticks and sponges in the intestine of the dog. When the con¬ 
dition, produced by these foreign bodies, cannot be relieved by 
palliative treatment, the abdomen should be opened and the ob¬ 
jects removed through an incision made into the intestine. 
(d) Dilatation of the Intestine Containmg Foreign Bodies. 
—Dilatations of the intestines may be divided into two 
varieties, viz.: 
(<t) Dilatations caused by foreign bodies. 
( b ) Dilatations caused by obstructions. 
( a ) Dilatations Caused by Foreign Bodies. —These dilata¬ 
tions are produced in obedience to the law of gravitation ; the 
weight of the object enclosed in the intestine rests upon the in¬ 
ferior part of the ,wall which causes a dilatation of this part of 
the wall by the continual strain on the anatomy involved. The 
cul-de-sac though small at first, enlarges as the weight increases ; 
if caused by a calculus, it increases in size by the accumulation 
of the precipitates which enter into its composition; and, if 
