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MR. LAQUERRlERE. 
allows them, nevertheless, to preserve a certain independence, 
while at the same time they all co-operate towards a common 
object, the perpetual renewal of the organic life. It follows from 
this fact, that any disturbance of this apparatus soon extends to 
the entire organism; from thence to the cerebro-spinal system, 
and by reflex Action to all parts of the body. 
To repair all losses, the digestive apparatus receives the food 
into its cavities, where, by a series of sensitive and peculiar acts, it 
chooses and selects, both by its physical and chemical instinct, so 
to speak, and modifies that food, the assimilable portion, passing 
into the circulatory current, while the other is rejected, as unfit 
for the work of repair. 
Outside of its accessory organs, the liver and pancreas, the 
digestive apparatus is, in the abdomen, constituted by a musculo- 
membranous canal, twisted or reflexed upon itself several times, 
but whose dimensions as well as functions, vary very much. It 
is composed, as we are all aware, of the stomach and the intes¬ 
tines. 
The stomach, simple in the horse, is besides, of a small size 
and of limited contents, compared with the enormous capacity 
represented by the intestines, and especially by the large colon. 
In consequence of this anatomical disposition the ingested masses 
remain but a short time in the stomach, and rapidly accumulate 
in the large intestinal reservoir, where the act of digestion, com¬ 
menced in the stomach, is completed. Again, from the small 
size of the stomach, it is unable, even when distended, to inter¬ 
fere to any considerable extent with the circulatory function, and 
the displacements caused by the motions of the horse may with 
any ordinary gait to a certain extent always take place without 
detriment to the animal. 
The intestines are formed of two portions very distinct, both 
as to their form and their functions. The small intestine consti- 
\ 
tntes a long cylindrical canal, uniform in size, and susceptible of 
a variety of displacements. Through this the chyme flows, more 
or less rapidly, after its formation in the stomach, and receives 
and intermingles with the biliary and pancreatic fluids, which here 
also meet the secretion formed abundantly by the mucous mem- 
