LIBRARY NEW YORK STATE VETERINARY COLLEGE ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library SF 745.G19 V.I Our domestic animals in health and disea 3 1924 000 297 527 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000297527 OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS. OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. FIRST DIVISION.— OEGANS OP DIGESTION : THEIR FUNCTIONS AND DISORDERS. JOHN GAMGEE, PRINCIPAL OF THE NEW VETEKIXART COLLEGE, EDDTBUKGH ; AUTHOR OP " DAIRY STOCK ;" " THE VETERINARIAN'S TADE-MECHM," &C. Ac. MHT^ ^nmtxanz ^Unstxniians. EDINBUEGH: MACLACHLAN & STEWART, 64 SOUTH BRIDGE. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. MDCCCLXT. PUISTED BY KlilLL AND COill'ANT, KDINDURGIT. PREFACE. The British stockowner has, in the improvement of the breeds and management of the Domestic Animals, brought to bear on his favoiirite pursuits the highest talent and the most indomitable perseverance. Our agriculture is more disting-uished for its short-horns than its wheat, its horses than its hay, and the hunting farmer, the prize-taking breeder, the enlightened grazier and feeder, are as character- istic of Britain as our House of Commons and a free press. The success of the stockowner, however, has been more due to his own industry and practical intelligence than to any advice or assistance he may have obtained from the current wgrks on , veterinary subjects, which, as a rule, do not embody the most recent information, and are far below the requisitions of the age. As it is believed that scientific truths admit of being set forth in plain English, and as both the agriculturists and the veterinarians of this country have learnt, and are learn- ing daily, the duties of scientific men in discovering, com- paring, and balancing facts, and deducing" general principles, it is the object of the author of this Treatise, to embody, in VI PREFACE. one work, the knowledge possessed, at the present day, on questions relating to the preservation and restoration of the health of our domestic animals. The laws of health require to be known before ill-health or disease can be understood, and agriculturists require to know more of disease with a view to prevention, than with a view to active medical treatment. It is this circumstance which will induce the author to treat folly of the causes of disease — their method of action — the phenomena they induce — and the methods of checking the latter. In this Treatise the fanctions of animals are considered in their healthy con- dition, with the circumstances capable of disturbing them, and a general history of such disturbances. Thus what has to be said of disease illustrates and demonstrates aU that has to be said regarding healtL With this programme clearly before him, the author has aimed at limiting his subject in the manner he deems most desirable for the class of readers for whom this Treatise is intended, viz., the well-educated stockowner no less than the veterinary surgeon. CONTENTS OE THE FIEST DIVISION. CHAPTER I. DIGESTION AND FOOD. Introduction.— Selection of food.— Prehension of food. — Lips of horse.- The tongue of horse and ox. — Incisor teeth. — Parrot mouth. — Lampas. — Position in the collection of food. — Lips of ox. — Pad in mouth of ox. — Snout of pig. — Pigs the town scaven- gers at Naples. — Prehension in carnivorous animals. — A troublesome bone. — ^Pre- hension of liquids. — Suction. — Pumping. — Aspiration. — Lapping. — Diseases of organs of prehension. — 'Big Head.' — Aphtha. — Inflammation of tongue. — ^indura- tion.— .Suppuration. — ^Ulcers of tongue. — Paralysis of lips and tongue. — Abuse of bits. — Nature of food; its proximate principles. — Inorganic principles. — ^Hydro- carbons. — -Albuminoid constituents. — Mastication. — The jaws. — The teeth. — Enamel. — ^Dentine. — Cement. — ^Their relative hardness. — Teeth of herbivora, age determined by. — Dentition in ox; in sheep; in liorse. — ^Dentition in dog; in pig. — Deceptions practised. — * Bishoping.' — ' Cardinals.' — ' Gypping.' — ' Puffing the Glym,' Pogol CHAPTER ir. DIGESTION. DISEASES OE TEETH. — INSALIVATION. Mastication. — Opening and closing the jaws. — Lateral action in herbivora. — Hegularity in the action of the jaws. — ^The action slow. — Peculiarity in ruminants. — Movement in carnivora. — Action of tongue during mastication. — Injuries to the temporo- masillary joints. — Dislocation. — Open joint.— Diseases of the jaws. — Fractures. — Their consequences. — Scrofulous softening and degeneration. — Fibro-plastic growths, or osteo-sarcoma. — Abnormal state of the teeth. — Tumour on an incisor. Buck teeth.—' Crib-biting '—Its symptoms and prevention.— Fracture and disloca- tion of the incisors.- Removal of incisors,— Peculiarities and disease of the molar teeth.— Supernumerary teeth.— "Wolf's teeth.— Irregularities of development. — Fistulje on the forehead.- An instructive case in a colt.— Molar pressing through the palate.— Irregularities in the rows of teeth.— Sharp edges of molars.— Excess in length of molars.— Caries.— Deposit of bone within the tooth socket.— Diseases of the dental pulp and of periosteum.- Symptoms of disease of teeth.— Operations on (.ggtji 'Chewing a rasp.'- Brogniez's instruments.— Gowing's instruments. —Ex- traction of teeth.- Plugging teeth.— Insalivation.— Diseases of the salivary appara- tus.— Functional disorders.— Concretions.— Parotitis.— Deglutition, . . 66 CHAPTER III. ORGANS OF RUMINATION — THEIB DISEASES. EuminBtion -Position and capacity of organs in cattle.-Eumen.-VTater ponchee in camels —Eeticulum.— ManypUes.— Kennet.— fflsophagean canal.— Act of rumma. tion -Changes of food in the rmnen.-Begmgitation of food.-Colin's experiments. VUl CONTENTS. —Paunch of llama. — ^Movements of food in paunch. — Second mastication. — Aris- totle and Brugnone. — Quantit7 contained hy stomachs of ruminants. — Stomach of the horse; of the pig; of camivora. — Crop of birds. — Guizzard. — ^Movements of the stomachs. — Vomiting— Its mechanism. — Action of stomach; of cesophagus. — Horse not susceptible to emetic action. — ^Mechanical impediments.— Circumstances under which vomiting may occur in horses. — ^Treatment of vomiting. — Pharyngeal polypi. — Choking. — Causes. — Symptoms. — Treatment. — Dilatation of gullet. — Stricture of cesophagus. — Laceration of oesophagus. — Inflammation of gullet, — Parasites. — Tympanitis or hove. — Chronic hove. — Impaction of paunch. — Fardel bound or grass staggers. — Lead poisoning. — Diseases of reticulum. — Concretions. — Fistulse. — Stomach staggers in the horse; mad, comatose, and paralytic forms. — ^Diseases with which they may be confounded. — ^Treatment, Page 129 CHAPTER IV. TEE STOMACH. — THE GASTKIC JUICE. — ^INTESTINAL DIGESTION. Impaction of the stomach in dogs. — Impaction of the crop in birds. — Parasites in the stomach. — Spiroptera. — Amphistomum conicum. — Strongylua contortus. — The horse hot. — ^The effects of bots on the health of horses. — Solvent function of the stomach. — ^Movements of stomach. — ^Mucous membrane. — Gastric glands. — Gastric juice. — Gastric fistulse. — Chemical composition and action of the gastric juice. — Ite action on the coats of the stomach. — ^Functional and structural disease of stomach. — Dilatation and contraction. — Dyspepsia. — Gastritis. — Poisons. — Animal irritants. — Naphtha and fish oil. — Cantharides. — Souse. — Vegetable irri- tants. — Metallic irritants — Non-metallic irritants.— Gastrorrhcea. — ^Intestinal diges- tion. — Small intestine — Its coats and glands. — ^Large intestine. — Movements of the intestine. — ^The hver.— Bile. — ^The pancreas. — Pancreatic juice. — Intestinal secre- tions. — Solution of food in the intestines. — ^Absorption.— Excrement. — ^Production of concretions. — Stercoral masses. — Phosphatic calculi. — Dust balls. — Mixed calculi, 193 CHAPTER T. DISEASES OP THE INTESTINE, LIVEB, AND PANCREAS. Intestinal parasites in the horse, ox, sheep, pig, and dog.— Constipation — ^In foals,— Colic. — Causes, viz., physical and vital. — Symptoms. — Complicated varieties. — Post- mortem appearances. — Treatment. — The common practices condemned. — ^Mr Joseph Gamgee senior's plan. — Its certainty and safety. — Results. — I!,uptured stomach. — Kuptured colon.— Ruptured rectum.— Volvulus or ileus.— Intussusception of the small and of the large intestine. — ^Mr Fercivall on intussusception. — Patho- logical anatomy of the lesion, — Obstructions by tumours. — Ligatures of the intes- tine by pedunculated growths.— Enteritis.— Exudative enteritis.— Peritonitis.^ Dysentery.- Enzootic dysentery.— Darn or wood evil.— Diarrhoea.— White scour in lambs and calves. — ^Dilatation of rectum.— Imperforate anus. — ^Fistula in ano. Prolapsus anl. — Proctorrhsea. — Hsemorrhoida. — Hernia. — Umbilical— Inguinal Scrotal— Ventral— Mesenteric. — Gut-tie" in cattle. — ^Phrenic and omental hemi». Diseases of the liver.— Jaundice.— Hsepatirrhoea.— Hepatitis.— Biliary calculi. Parasitic diseases. — ^Pancreas. — Functional and structural disorders. — ^Pancreatic calcnll, .... 267 OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. CHAPTER I. DIGESTION AND FOOD. Introduction. — Selection of food. — Prehension of food. — Lips of horse. — The tongue of horse and ox. — Incisor teeth. — Parrot mouth. — Lampas. — Position in the collection of food. — Lips of ox. — Pad in mouth of ox. — Snout of pig. — Pigs the town scavengers at Naples. — Prehension in car- nivorous animals. — A troublesome bone. — Prehension of liquids. — Suction. — Pumping, — Aspiration. — Lapping. — Diseases of organs of prehension. — 'Big Head.' — Aphtha. — Inflammation of tongue. — Induration. — Sup- puration. — Ulcers of tongue. — ParaJysis of lips and tongue. — Abuse of bits. — Nature of food : its proximate principles. — Inorganic principles. — Hydrocarbons. — ^Albuminoid constituents. — Mastication. — The jaws. — The teeth. — Enamel. — Dentine. — Cement. — Their relative hardness.— Teeth of Herbivora, age determined by. — Dentition in ox ; in sheep ; in horse. — Dentition in dog; in pig. — Deceptions practised. — 'Bishoping.' — 'Cardinals.' — 'Gypping.' — 'Puffing the Glym.' Amongst the most important questions in Social Economy, are those which refer to the means of support most favour- able for the health and fuU development of the animals sub- servient to man's will and wants. The management of stock resolves itself, ia a great measure, into the simple problem of 'how to feed.' The satisfactory solution of such a problem can only be arrived at with a perfect knowledge of the apti- 2 DIGESTION AND FOOD. tudes of animals, their disposition to thrive and grow, with a complete understanding of the nature of food, the infinite ways in which it may be favourably combined, and, lastly, with a sound knowledge of the animal functions whereby food is transformed into the flesh, blood, and bone of the horse, the bullock, or the pig. To know that oats and turnips are very nutritious, is not sufficient to guide their use, and to indicate under what cir- cumstances and in what form they are most advantageously employed. Moreover, the fact that both materials may be food for horse or ox is insufficient.* Experience supplies a host of facts, which, with the light of science, admit of being grouped and explained so as to establish general principles, and these may prevent future generations from blundering and throwing away time and money in superfluous experiments. Many tables of the nutritive value of feeding materials have been drawn up. Analyses are being constantly made, and will be resorted to so long as stock has to be fed, but we must progress in generalization with the progress made in the accumulation of scattered facts. Views may have to be * A suggestive instance of the many circumstances to be considered in speaking of the nutritive value of substances is afforded by Mangel Wurzel. Mr Pringle, in his excellent Treatise on Meat Manufacture, says : " Dr Voelcker states that he has found mangels ' to be about the worst description of roots that can be given to sheep.' In an experi- mental trial of different feeding materials, he found that whilst ' sheep fed on swedes and hay increased on an average 2|ft)S. per week,' those fed on mangels and hay ' at the end of four months had not increased a single pound.' From this he infers that there exists some peculiarity in the constitution of sheep which prevents them from deriving benefit from mangels, whUst cattle thrive rapidly upon them. This is another point which requires co-operative investigation on the part of scientific and practical men, as we have met with cases which seemed to cor- roborate Dr Voelckcr's vieM's, whilst the results in others were diametri- cally 'opposite.'' SELECTION OF FOOD. 3 modified They will be tested by experience, and new gene- ralizations wiU correct and replace the old. A more accurate and unprejudiced judgment will be formed as the field of observation extends, and as man's reason is aided by valuable beacons and resting-places, he will be spared much useless labour in unravelling hosts of morsels of information, which, with the increase in the number of authors and books, wiH be perfectly unfathomable, especially to the practical man. We consider that on the vitally important subject, — the feeding of stock, — much Hght has to be thrown from the jjhysiological aspect. We must know how animals digest, what they digest, and what proves injurious and even deadly. With a knowledge of the nature of food, the nature of animals, and the nature of digestion, valuable rules for practice can certainly be deduced. Selection of Food. — The choice of food is controlled by the animal's habits and appetite. Herbivorous quadrupeds graze and devour with relish the grasses, bulbs, and grain suited to their systems, whUst the camivora seize on the flesh of herbivorous animals, and manifest a special aversion for the carcases of creatures allied to them in their habits. The omnivorous pig devours all. He is not a dirty feeder, as some people suppose, but a universal gourmand, drinking milk, or greedily swallowing oatmeal or muscle, cabbage, and any kitchen refuse. Like man, any omnivorous animal may be restricted to a vegetable diet, or live almost exclusively on flesh; but the pig is certainly more fit for the purposes of human consumption when rendered somewhat strictly vege- tarian. An artificial mode of existence forces on animals predilec- tions which, in a state of nature, are not observed. They are essentially moderate in their desires; but take a horse into stable life, and he wiU learn how to eat that which he would 4 DIGESTION AND FOOD. when at liberty refuse. He also becomes a glutton, and fills himself to repletion, devouriag far more than when free id the field, and besides hay and oats in abundance, picking up his litter, and being always ready to neigh when the com bin is approached. The exercise connected with the natural collection and selection of food is of great importance to health in herbivora. They cannot fast long, like the lion or dog; they cannot rest in a state of torpor and listlessness to relieve an over-dis- tended alimentary canal. They sometimes eat and kill them- selves by over-feeding, when man heaps before them enormous quantities of food, but that is under circumstances when they cannot rove, and pick and browse, walk and chew, watch and swaUow, Me and ruminate, travel for water, and live as nature destined them. However trivial such considerations may appear at first sight, they clearly point to the rule to be established, that if treated artificially, animals must be managed according to their habits, unless we wish to disturb and to destroy them. A natural craving is manifested in man and animals for that wliich suits their organism as feeding material. The rock salt which the horse speedily licks up, occasionally with a morbid appetite, is a necessary constituent of his body. The preference for hay over straw, though in part due to its more agreeable taste, is undoubtedly owing to its being more suit- able as diet, and any injurious agents, such as musty hay, or many of the poisonous plants, are judiciously avoided. All animals manifest the same dispositions, and it is needless that I .should multiply examples. The collection of food varies materially in our different domestic animals. One bolts flesh and coarsely grinds bones, to be deposited in a capacious stomach; another speedily takes ill a large quantity, and lodges it for awhile in a crop, or in SELECTION OS EOOD. f> a paunch. The fowl crushes beyond the crop; the ox at leisure returns the food to the mouth, to be re-masticated. The horse collects and at once thoroughly grinds, dis- solves, and appropriates food to the system in regular and rapid succession, vdthout the superadded functions of the timid animal, who would seriously suffer from dyspepsia by * Fig 1. — A. Bumen. — B. Keticulum. — C. Omasum or Manyplies continuous without demarcation with the Abomesum D. — ^I. (Esophagus. — G. First Group of Water-cells. — H. Second Group. — E. Pylorus. — F. Duodenum.--)(CoLTNj. 'bolting' its food. Habit, therefore, materially influences the collection of food, its retention and appropriation to the wants of the animal. The system of reservoirs for alimentary matters observed in aU ruminants is beautifully exemplified in the animals of the desert for the supply of water. The 6 DIGESTION AND FOOD. water-cells shown at Fig. 1 are unabsorbing membranous sacs, which prove eminently fit for the reception and gradual rendering to the system of the water which is so scanty in the arid sandy plains of Africa. Peehension of Food. — ^According to the mode of life for which an animal has been formed, we observe a variety in the arrangement of parts destined to gather food. Man grasps with a prehensile hand, and so distinctive is this property, that the nearest allied animal — the ape — is distinguished by the imperfect thumb as well as the opposing big toe. The latter indicates that the monkey is not destined for the same erect posture which characterises the human being, and the first points to a special office to be performed in the latter by the grasping palm and fingers, under the guidance of reason. The primary office which the hand instinctively serves in the infant, is to carry food to the mouth. It is this which causes the baby to clutch the breast, and to approach to its lips any object which may be placed in its little hand. Nature pro- vides active prehensile organs should the bulky frame of an animal prevent the ready movements of the head or trunk; thus the elephant, having to pick from the ground, with the disadvantage of a huge body, a short neck, and enormous head, acquires a moveable proboscis with a prehensile sucker. How dexterously he grasps a loaf, and throws it between his enormous molars. He cannot pump water into his mouth like the horse, or lap it in like the lion or dog, but he sucks it into his trunk, and then blows it into his throat, or over his body to cool the skin scorched by an Asiatic or South African sun. The giraffe has to feed on the tall trees of the tropics, and the tall fore extremities, long neck, small and easily lifted head, with a long prehensile tongue, enable him to live on that which is beyond the reach of most other non- volatile creatures. i JKm .^h9^^I^h» .^bBSH^BBk wSS^^sKBIk i^ eSB^SK^T /# S^'^BSs^"/' SS^^^jl^^^^^^^^^y i 13 -B Bp?^SR9^ ^mkSlH hBT wSf '• ' k^^^k ■Pfr^ t~ ^ ^K ij, ,' J* ~ '^ ^u^ ^— c W'' J Si ^ ^Sk^ m WL w Pif;. 2. \^m 1 tf J ^^ 1 I. I. 2. Auricular Muscles '^^^ JhT 1 3. ticutiform Cartilage. 1^8 Ini 1 This and a certain 4. External Scuto-Auri- vBB BH number of other en- cular Muscle. 1^1 W^ M ,8Ir| wm gravings which will A. A. Auricular Branchea ^M ■HiH sKiIHH WK appear in the course ofthelstpairof Cer- H HpR Hf^Hn w of this work, are from vicai IS'erves. H Hlfflt nwOHE 1 drawings which I B. B. Anterior Auricular ■ jHHBijHMHB 1 made in Lyons from Nerves. n HmH^h^mH 1 dissections made con- C. Terminal fibres of the ' |HH|^lBBB jointly by M. Cha- Supra Orbital Nerve. mWmIW veau and myself. They were used for D Superflcial or Termi- jMHiJHf ■ML Mr Chauveau's worlc nal Branch of the | Lacrimal Nerve. l|H|BflH on Anatomy.— J. G. Y. Tendon of Muscle to ^HHIHh^ curl Lip up. ^■H|^w^ Z. Naao - Transversalis ^m^a^ Muscle. 7 . 8 DIGESTION AND FOOD. Eestricting our observations to the domestic animals, we find the prehension of food is effected by different organs. In the dog and cat, the fore-limbs indicate to a certain extent the power which is given to man to grasp food and carry it to the mouth. The stout and soKd limbs of herbivo- rous quadrupeds are, however, alone destined for support and progression, and a long neck, and peculiarly shaped head, favour the prehensile organs, whether they be lips, jaws, teeth, or tongue. The organs of prehension are chiefly composed of muscular tissue, amongst which, fat and glandular structure are inter- spersed, and the whole covered by integument or mucous membrane. Both tongue and lips are thus provided with active moving power; and, we notice, in the lips of the horse in particular, a well-developed orbicular, or circular muscle, composed of fibres, which form a complete ring within them; and, in addition, we have elevators and depressors. The muscle, shown in the preceding Fig. 2 — (Nasalis longus labii superioris), is most efficient in curhng and elevating the upper Kp so as to grasp food. There is one on each side, and the two join at the point of the nose, to form the broad tendinous insertion Y. The tongue has intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The intrinsic are especially destined for the local movements of the tongue, favourable to the movements of food within the mouth. The extrinsic are connected with the tongue bone — os-hyoides — and chin, and favour the protrusion and retraction of the tongue, in the prehension of liquids as well as solids. The membrane covering the tongue is provided with emin- ences, or papillae, destined to increase its surface, for the production of the protecting scaly epithelium. It is this pro- tecting covering which acquires a horny hardness in the cat or lion, whereby the action of the tongue may be compared to that PEEHENSION OF FOOD. of a file. The arrangement of tliese eminences is characteristic in different animalsv There are four kinds: those that are thread-like, or filiform; those that are shaped like a mush- 10 DIGESTION AND FOOD. room, ov fungiform; some that are bonical, and others that are fungiform, but situated in recesses, and termed papUlce circimivallatw. (See Figs. 3 and 4.) It is by the latter papillse that we can at once determine if a tongue, separated from the body, belongs to horse or ox. There are other distin- guishing marks, and it may be of some service, not only to enumerate them, but to show their contrast, as in the sub- joiaed engravings: inasmuch, as it is supposed that horses' tongues find their way into victuallers' shops, whereas they should not be used as human food, though, in the vast majority of instances, no injury would accrue therefrom. The tongue of the horse (see Fig. 3) is long, with a weU-marked middle depression, or Une, called the raphe, and a broad flattened free end. On either side of the middle line, towards the root of the tongTie, is a very large compound circumvallate eminence or papiUa. In the ox, the tongue is pointed, deep, and with two diverging rows of papillae on the base of the tongue, as seen in Fig. 4. Each row numbers from eleven to thirteen papiUse. The selection of food is facilitated by the method of gathering it observed amongst the vegetable feeders. The horse has a sensitive upper Hp, susceptible of active move- ment and a collecting power. The nose serves to indicate that which the Ups should leave, and in some cases, the sense of touch possessed by the latter, affords the animal an indica- tion of that which should be left and that which should be taken. The lips in the horse carry the food between the incisor teeth, so that it may be firmly held, whilst, by an active jerk of the head, grass is cut, hay pulled from the rack, or branches severed. If the incisor teeth are malformed, so as to prevent the proper cutting of grass, a horse may be starved even on a luxuriant pasture. The malformation most commonly in- PAEEOT MOUTH. li ducing this impediment has been termed 'parrot mouth/ in which the upper incisor teeth grow over the lower ones, from the shortness of the lower jaw. The annexed cut will sufficiently explain this peculiar deformity. Amongst the mechanical impediments to the action of the incisor teeth, we must notice the swelling of the gums and palate, incidental to dentition, and which horsemen have from time immemorial called the 'Lampas.' Whence this absurd name was derived I cannot venture to determine: but I can say it has done much mischief, by being regarded as a specific name for a specific disease supposed to require active treatment by the hot iron. It is no disease, but simply determination of blood to parts the seat of active changes during the development of the teeth. Some- times a few cautious pricks with a lancet, or a mild astringent solution, consisting of a tea-spoonful of alum to a 12 DIGESTION AND FOOD. tumbler of water, may reduce the swelling, and cause the animal to feed better. It is worthy of notice how slight interference with the action of the horse's incisors may lead to apparently serious residts. In one instance, a horse refused food, manifested much irritation by a constant slavering, and rapidly lost flesh. Several examinations failed to elicit the cause, until a veterinary surgeon discovered a piece of wood lying across the palate, and wedged firmly in between the upper incisors. On the removal of the offending object, the animal regained its appetite and health. From such a simple accident, this horse would have lost his Ufe, if left unrelieved, as certainly as in the worst forms of choking. Position is an important element in the act of grazing, and we observe the horse expanding the fore-legs, some- times bending them, and the lips carry the long grass between the incisors. A horse cannot live on very bare pasture. He cannot thrive with close-biting animals like sheep ; and, as the latter deprive a field of the best and most succulent young plants as rapidly as these force through the soU, the horse fails with his apparatus destined to gather much at every movement of his head and body. By disease a horse may be prevented grazing in the position referred to, as by holding the head closely to the ground, congestion of the brain is favoured; and, if one, or both, jugulars (the neck veins) are obstructed, as the result of previous inflammation, or from other causes, we observe that the head sweUs, the animal staggers, reels to and fro, and falls. Like the horse with a parrot mouth, such an animal requires to be fed from the rack and manger. The upper lip of the ox is short, and endowed with only slight power of motion; it is blended with the solid muzzle, which is covered by a thick secreting membrane. The tongue PEEHENSION OF FOOD. 1.3 of the ox has, therefore, to perform the ofBce of the horse's upper lip, and is accordingly endowed with great power, pro- truding far out of the mouth, curUng over any object the animal may seize, and drawing it into the mouth. It is rough, -with conical and sharply-pointed papUlse turning backwards, so as effectually to catch and pull grass, or other material the animal may be eating. The cutting of grass is effected by the sharp cutting incisors appUed against the elastic pad which occupies the position of upper incisors. This pad, with the peculiar ridges of the hard palate, is represented at Fig. 6. Fiij. 6 In the sheep and goat the upper lip approaches the powei and freedom of the prehensile organ of the horse, and aids the incisors and tongue in gathering food. The pig, destined by nature to uproot plants, and grope for food amongst the dropped acorns and other fruit of the forest, is provided with a strong and moveable snout, having a bony and cartilaginous basis, and powerful muscles to act 14 DIGESTION AND FOOD. upon it; and, as Youatt says, "In point of fact, the snout of the hog is his Spade, with which, in his natural state, he digs and grubs ia the ground for roots, earth-nuts, and worms, &c." The lower lip of the pig is short and pointed. When the animal applies its snout to the ground to gather food, the latter is thrown back, and the lip is favourably placed for its reception, or to lift it in between the organs of mastication. It is to prevent the pig burrowing and destroying vegetation that a ring is occasionally placed ia his nose, and with this appendage the animal would starve if left to himself in the native haunts of the wild boar or the peccaries. The pig in his natural state is deservedly recognised as a wise animal. No creature can be easier kept, and prove more profitable, than a sow. I have before alluded to the fact that swine are omnivorous, and eat all. This habit has been taken advantage of in some parts of the world ; and in Naples pigs are, or at aU events were, to a great extent, the scavengers of the town. When night is far advanced, and the streets quiet, the strolling stranger may be suddenly alarmed by a grunting animal moving rapidly by. Several are met in succession, and they run about the town until daylight, when each, having picked from the streets that which, at a rapid trot, it could gather, returns home and anxiously awaits night-time again. That pigs are to be reared to hunt for their food, and find their way from home at stated periods, is illustrated by an anecdote by Sir F. Head, who, in his Bvhhles from, the Brunnen, says : — " Every morning, at half-past five o'clock, I hear, as I am dressing, the sudden blast of an immense long wooden horn, from which always proceed the same four notes. I have got quite accustomed to this wild r^veilU; and the vibration has scarcely subsided, and is still ringing among the distant hiUs, when, leisurely proceeding from almost every door in the THE PIG. 15 Street, behold a pig! Some, from their jaded, careworn, dragged appearance, are evidently leaving behind a mimerous litter; others are great, tall, monastic, melancholy wretches, which seem to have no other object left in this wretched world than to become bacon; while others are thin, tiny, light-hearted, brisk, petulant piglings, with the world and all its loves and sorrows before them. Of their own accord, these creatures proceed down the street, to join the herdsman, who occasionally continues to repeat the sorrowful blast from his horn. " Gregarious, or naturally fond of society, with one curl in their tails, and with their noses almost touching the ground, the pigs trot on, grunting to themselves and to their comrades, halting only whenever they come to anything they can manage to swaUow. " I have observed that the old ones pass all the carcases which, traUing to the ground, are hanging before the butchers' shops, as if they were on a sort of parole d'honneur not to touch them; the middle-aged ones wistfully eye this meat, yet jog on also ; while the pigUngs, who (so like mankind) have more appetite than judgment, can rarely resist taking a nibble ; yet no sooner does the dead calf begin to move, than, from the window immediately above, out pops the head of a butcher, who, drinking his coffee, whip in hand, inflicts a prompt punishment sounding quite equal to the offence." And that the pig is clever in gathering his food, is proved from what Sir Francis Head says further on, when he remarks on the pigs being lashed on beyond the tempting morsels they find in the streets. He says : — " No wonder, poor reflecting creatures ! that they had come unwillingly to such a spot; for there appeared to be literally nothing to eat but hot stones and dust; however, making the best of the bargain, they all very vigorously set themselves to 16 DIGESTION AJSTD FOOD. work Looking up the hill, they dexterously began to lift up with their snouts the largest of the loose stones, contraually grubbing their noses iato the cool ground. Their tough wet snouts seemed to be sensible of the quality of everything they touched; and thus, out of the apparently barren ground, they managed to get fibres of roots, to say nothing of worms, beetles, and other travelling insects they met with. As they slowly advanced working up the hill, with their ears most philosophically shading their eyes from the hot sun, I could not help feeUng how little we appreciate the delicacy of several of their senses, and the extreme acuteness of their instinct. " There exists, perhaps, in creation no animal which has less justice and more injustice done to him by man than the pig. We see him gifted with every faculty of supplying him- self, and of providing even against the approaching storm, which no creature is better capable of foretelling, and we begin our treatment of him by putting an iron ring through the cartilage of his nose. Having thus barbarously deprived him of the power of searching for and analyzing his food, we then generally condemn him' for the rest of his life to solitary confinement in a sty." Carnivorous animals, such as the dog and cat, grasp food with their powerfnl jaws, and often lacerate and fix it with their fore extremities. In prehension they are essentially biting animals, and, accordingly, their cheeks are loose and ample, the mouth opens widely, and their teeth are pointed, and curve back, to hook up any object fixed between the jaws by the masseter muscles. Persons are not always aware that, in the act of biting, an animal uses its lower jaw, which articulates with the fixed bones of the head. If a dog's lower jaw is held, he cannot bite; and when Maccomo recently was seized by a tiger, he judiciously held on to the A TROUBLESOME BONE. ]7 lower jaw, diminishing the power of the animal to bite, until he could be liberated. I have, in the foregoiag pages, recorded a singular case of a horse .suffering from a bit of wood being wedged between its upper incisors. Occasionally a dog is prevented from moving its jaws, indicates great agony and symptoms allied to those of choking, if any object gets fixed on his molar teeth. I can relate a quaint story regarding a dog thus tormented. I was solicited to look at a lady's pet, which, it was supposed, from the inattention of the servants, had been left on a terrace at the top of a four or five storied house, and, dissatisfied with solitary confinement, the dog jumped over into a court below, fracturing its lower jaw. This history was related to me as matter of fact, and I gazed at the pug-nosed "King Charles," wondering that it had survived the fall. His eyes were pro- minent and bloodshot, saliva was flowing from the partially opened mouth, and, on looking at the latter, the apparently bleeding end of the jaw bone could be seen. On feeling it, however, and exploring with my finger, I ascertained that the fracture was a myth. I upHfted the bloody bone and displaced it from between the molars, much to the astonishment of the ladies and the gratification of Charley, who, instead of prac- 'lising flying from the house top, had picked up a troublesome 3Kg. 7. morsel in the kitchen. I here furnish a drawing of the bone, which I lave preserved to this day. Such is an example of the histories of cases veterinarians, as well as physicians, get c 1 8 DIGESTION AND FOOD. even from trustwortliy persons. A supposed cause is assumed and then retailed as certain. Prehension op Liquids. — Colin has classified under four heads the various methods adopted by animals in drinldng. He considers there are four, — 1st, Suction, such as the act of drawing milk by the young animal 2nd, Pumping, by immersion of the lips and action by the tongue within the mouth, on the principle of the common pump. 3rd, Aspira- tion, or the act of inhaling; the vacuum for the introduction of the liquid being produced by a respiratory act, as well as by the mouth. 4th, Lapping. In the act of suction the teat is grasped by the lips, and even by the teeth, so that the mouth is closed upon it; the tongue is then pressed against the teat and withdrawn, pro- ducing a vacuum by the action of the tongue and cheeks exclusively, without any respiratory effort. The liquid is swallowed, and suction again practised. This wise provision preserves the infant, or the sucking animal, from the milk passing into the windpipe, which it might do if inhalation served to draw the fluid into the mouth. The act of pumping is that resorted to by the horse. He drops the lips beneath the surface of the water, and sometimes immerses even the nose. A small space between the lips, opened by the rushing in of the liquid owing to the action of the tongue, represents the small aperture through which water is drawn in the act of pumping, and the tongue acts as a piston precisely as in the process of sucking. Poncet performed an experiment to prove that the act of drinking in the horse is not by inhalation, as some persons supposed. He opened the windpipe and introduced a tube into it, as in the performance of tracheotomy, and the animal drank as before, though no inhalatory force could be then brought to bear on the liquid through the mouth. The anatomical relation between the DISEASES OF THE OEGANS OF PREHENSION. 19 mouth and throat in the horse is, however, sufficient to prove that the horse cannot breathe through his mouth in drinking, or in any other natural action of the organs situated in the latter. The soft palate forms a complete partition between the mouth and throat, and can only be elevated, or allow the pas- sage of food or water backwards by compression, such as that which occurs in swallowing. If there be any impediment to respiration, we sometimes hear a loud roaring noise, produced by the air rushing through the soft palate, and the animal suffers considerably from such an unnatural act; thus afford- ing proof that, in drinking, the pumping force is effected within the mouth, and the soft palate is only disturbed in the act of passing the fluid back into the gullet. So complete is this partition, that if an animal suffering from inflamma- tion of the throat, cannot swaUow the water which it attempts to drink, when pushed through the soft palate, it is poured back through the nose. This is a valuable symptom of obstruction in the throat, whether due to inflammation or other cause. Diseases of the Oegans of Prehension. — I have abeady furnished several examples of impediments to the natural prehension of food, which materially affect the ease and health of animals. So important are these diseases, that special attention has been devoted to them at a very early period of the history of our profession by its most distinguished members. Amongst the most earnest writers is Toggia, a Piedmontese veterinary surgeon in high repute towards the close of last century. Having noticed in the preceding pages a condition of the mouth, at the period of dentition, termed ' Lampas,' I have now to refer to special diseases which paay interfere with gathering food. Two of these I shall treat of at length on a future occasion; they are Glossanthrax or Blain, and Epi- zootic Aphtha. 20 DIGESTION AND FOOD. In some countries low-bred horses suffer from a very porous condition of their bones, constituting a disease termed Osteo- porosis. In America it is called 'big head/ from the size attained, especially by the jaw bones, which, in sweUing, con- tract the mouth, and soon incapacitate the animal from masticating or chewing its food. The subjoined cut is from a drawing I made from nature whUst in Stuttgard in 1854. I shall more fuUy treat of this interesting disease elsewhere. Fig. 8. Spoeadic Aphtha is a vesicular eruption of the mouth, distinguished from the epizootic disease by its very mild form and non-contagiousness. This mild affection is occasionally witnessed in all animals, and was mentioned by the earliest writers on veterinary medicine, such as Euellio, Vegetius, and others. It is sometimes primary, and due to causes operating INFLAMMATION OF THE MOUTH. 21 locally, such as the food an animal eats, the accidental intro- duction of acrid plants into the mouth, &c. At others it is a secondary affection, and dependent on a constitutional state ; the eruptions being then usually regarded as one of nature's efforts to rid the system of deleterious principles. The aphthae which Eammazzini describes as occurring iu cattle that suffer from contagious tjrphoid, or the Russian Plague, belong to the secondary variety. In simple aphtha or thrush the symptoms are purely local, and consist ia difficult prehension of food, salivation, and the presence of clusters of white vesicles on the lips, cheeks, tongue, &c. Treatment consists in the use of a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and honey, to which may be added acetate of zinc in the proportion of half an ounce to the pound. Inflammation of the Mouth, and, more especially Glossitis, or Inflammation of the tongue, may be observed in any of our domestic animals, and especially as the result of the incautious administration of medicine. A solution of hartshorn is often given to cattle in hove, and turpentine is very improperly administered to the horse in large and dan- gerous doses, and both agents have occasionally given rise to troublesome symptoms, by producing iaflammation of the mouth. The symptoms of inflammation are all present, — viz., heat, pain, redness, and swelling. The animal is salivated, and experiences much general derangement. If the tongue be more particularly the seat of the disease, it is motionless, swollen, and sometimes protruded from the mouth, which, being opened, gives to the animal a very pecu- liar and anxious expression. In inflammation of the mouth generally, or of the tongue, the epithelium, or scaly covering of the membranous lining, peels off, and leads to a veiy sore and raw aspect of the implicated parts. Ulceration may set in, or the tongue and other narts remain stiff, swollen, and indurated. 22 DIGESTION AND FOOD. Induration of the Tongue is a result of glossitis to be dreaded, and may usually be prevented by proper treatment. Suppuration is most frequently the result ; and, wbether super- ficial or deep, resolves itself into discharge of the matter, which, when thoroughly thrown off, leaves the parts in a con- dition favourable to heal. From first to last, in every form of inflammation of the mouth or tongue, the swelling is apt to be considerable, and may give rise to symptoms of suffocation. The treatment of inflammatory diseases of the mouth or tongue consists in the early exhibition of a purgative — aloes in the horse, a saline purge in cattle, and castor oil to any of the smaller animals.* In the pig, subject as this animal not unfrequently is to inflammation of the mouth, &c., tartar emetic, in half-grain doses, repeated twice a-day, proves the best antiphlogistic. Small, and oft-repeated doses of nitre, or acetate of ammonia, must be given in proportions according to the animal treated. The veterinary surgeon gains considerably by judicious scarifications or incisions into the swoUen parts. An electuary, such as that recommended for aphtha, may be used, or a mild solution of alum. If pus or matter form in abundance, and is attended with foetor, a little chlorine water, largely diluted, constitutes the best disinfectant. To keep the animal's condition up, it may be expedient to drench with gruel, linseed tea, and other nutritious materials. Animals affected with inflammation of the mouth or tongue should be encouraged to drink water freely. Ulcers of the tongue and lips are commonly seen in cattle. They are generally superficial, but often extensive, and call for the use of caustic, astringent lotions, and careful manage- ment as to diet, &c. * For information as to the doses of medicine, the administration of the latter, and many prescriptions, see The Veterinarian's Vade- Mccum. PARALYSIS OF THE LIPS AND TONGUE. 23 Paealysis of the Lips and Tongue, usually on one side, is occasionally seen in the horse, and is due to such injury to the nerves proceeding to these parts, as to render it incurable. The tongue is apt to drop between the horse's incisors, and to be bitten severely; and the hanging lip gives to the horse a very peculiar look, and renders him unable to pick food. Protrusion of the tongue (Prolapsus Linguce) is the most troublesome of the two conditions, and, as Hertwig says,* must be due to one of three causes: 1st, Paralysis; 2nd, Debility, and elongation of the muscular fibres of the tongue; 3rd, Wounds or injuries to the tongue. The veterinarian may have to amputate a portion of the latter organ in order to prevent the animal repeatedly injuring it. Lapdogs often have a congenital malformation, and the tongue hangs on one side of the mouth. The injuries and diseases of the tongue suggest the evils which are occasionally attendant on the improper management of animals. Not unfrequently has a horse's tongue been nearly wrenched off by a high port bit, and the useless torture inflicted by absurd instruments, which rude hands prefer to guide a horse with, is reprehensible in the extreme. Bracy Clark says, with much wit, in his Ghalinologia, or Treatise on the Bits of Horses, that, "In placing these irons in the mouth of the horse, and communicating them to the hand by the reins, we establish, or ought at least to establish, a sort of language of communication with the animal, and which, when adroitly and suitably applied, and used well, would bear no mean analogy to such; but unfortunately, however, for the worthy animal, this language of the bits at present, is possessing but too often, not the douceur or softness of the Italian, but is, in reaUty, a very crack-jaw, and worse language r * Praktishes Handbuch cler Cfwrwgie fwr Thurdxte. Von Dr C. H. Heetwig. Zweite Auflage. Berlin, 1869. 24 DIGESTION AND FOOD. than any of the hardest dialects of Sclavonia." In referring to horses thus cruelly treated with bits, Clark says : " How often, indeed, are their sufferings, and the eloquent expression of those sufferings by various movements of the head, dis- regarded, till obedience and patient suffering can no longer endure such torture, and disobedience and mischief become the fruits of this use." Though somewhat digressing from the direct object of these quotations, viz., pointing to the injuries inflicted by bits, I am tempted to refer to a passage in Clark's article on bits, which shows how Earey's idea of teaching horses with gentleness, and for which he has received much unmerited praise, was an acknowledged principle with intelligent horsemen in this country, long before Earey crossed the Atlantic. In breaking-in young horses, Bracy Clark says: "Patience and forbearance are leading requisites in it, and, perhaps, at times, some little address ; but, except on very rare occasions, nothing, I believe, should justify punishment, or the resorting to a cruel severity. It is, indeed, wonderful that so spirited, highly gifted, and powerful an animal, should so easily compound for all his natural rights, — ^for such, I presume, every animal has — and jdelds so readily an abject servility to man, and the loss of liberty and almost every natural desire."* Natuee of Food: its peoximate Peinciples. — The * In his last publication, entitled Fragmenta Viterinaria, Bracy Clark says : " We hail with pleasure anything coming from this new- bom land of America, unencumbered as it is with the tumours, incrus- tations, and impediments usually thrown in the way of advancing knowledge by old governments and laws. However, it is not to be expected that aU will be good that proceeds thence, without some degree of pruning and setting to rights, as being too wild for immediate adoption. How earnestly we wish the noble example of the founder of Pennsylvania may be kept always in view by this people, who nobly refused to receive the gift of the land of Pennsylvania, though given NATUEE OP FOOD : ITS PEOXIMATE PEINCIPLBa. 25 food which is gathered by animals is derived from the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms. It must contairi him for a debt, tiU he had satisfied the natives of the land by a solemn treaty and purchase. "The present performance of Karey is brought before the pubKc by one enamoured of his system, if such it may be called, by a fox- hunting squire, a writer on horse subjects for the newspapers — a school not very much entertained by the public for this species of investiga^ tion. In the first place, we must seriously object to the very title, which is rendering injustice to the horse, maldng him a sort of wild beast that stands in need of being ta/med. Instead of which, we hold him, from his natural inoffensive disposition, to require nothing of the sort, but has been most kindly deKvered to our hands by a merciful Creator, neither wild nor mischievous, but only requiring a little gentle breaking in, or education, without any punishing him, or injuring him, to become the docile, faithful, laborious, ready helpmate of man, that could be possibly desired. " His education, we hold, should consist of gaining his friendship and confidence by gentle measures, and not by deceiving him and punishing Mm, by throwing him down and frightening him, and grievously sweat- ing him, and accompanied with all sorts of fears and apprehensions. "The most noble of dispositions, we know, may be subdued by extreme punishment and severity, but is this the way to make a loving, obedient slave, that should have pleasure in giving satisfaction to all reasonable demands, and, in return for it, receiving kindness and rewards 1 " Better works than this exist, and should have been consulted by this writer for the newspapers, as, for instance, Beranger's second edition On the Horse, copied into Eees' Cyclopcedia, and again copied in Clark's work On the Bits of Horses, which far transcends every suggestion in this volume. Treachery of aU kiads, we believe, to a noble animal of this description, should be avoided, and the obtaining his love and confidence should be our chief aim, by patient sedulous measures, which it is not our business here to reiterate ; and as to Beranger and some others, of whose labours we cannot suppose him entirely ignorant, but of which there is not even a mention ; and, indeed, as a system of general Horse-Breakmg it is almost useless, and inferior to works we already possess on the subject." 26 DIGESTION AND POOD. certain essential elements, such as those constituting the animal fabric. In studying the chemistry of animals, or their food, we • may adopt a complex qualitative or quantitative analysis, and discover the ultimate elements composing them; or we may, by a natural process of separation, obtaiu certain compound substances, found in combination in any plant oi animal, and recognised as proximate principles. Thus, mUk may by analysis be found to contain hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, sulphur, and other ultimate elements; but, if we simply allow milk to get sour, we shall prove it contains a principle capable of curdling, called caseiu, in addition to water, fat, and salts. Thus, blood is readily found by spontaneous coagulation, or the application of heat, to contain fibrin and albumen, which are both proximate principles. The nature of these proximate principles must be investigated, in order to study digestion, and ia order to deduce the general principles involved in the art of feeding our domestic animals. In referring to the Chemistry of Food we must consider the chemical composition of animals, and I gladly seize this opportunity of entering somewhat fuUy into this important subject. The proximate principles above referred to have been classified under three heads : — I. Inorganic Constituents. II. Hydro-carbonaceous, or Non-Nitrogenous. III. Nitrogenous principles. I. The first inorganic constituent meriting special notice is "Water This universally diffused compound enters largely into the composition of an animal or plant, and is there destined not only to preserve a ^physical condition essential to the preservation and manifestation of the phenomena of Ufe, but is chemically important. It is true that it holds in simple solution many of the salts essential to the system, and when INORGANIC CONSTITUENTS. 27 the liquids of the body attain a certain degTee of concentra- tion, or when the solids have lost a part of their neces- sary proportion of water, thirst is induced. Thirst is the indication of water being required by the system. The quantity of water needed varies largely ia the organization of different animals and plants. It always constitutes a very large part of organic texture. This may be seen by taking a piece of tendon, which is even materially altered in its appear- ance by losing or regaining moisture. It is tough, pliable, bulky, heavy, white, and opaque ia its natural state. It be- comes hard, transparent, Hght, and of a yellowish or brownish colour if dried, and so perfectly does this white fibrous tissue preserve its structural peculiarities in the dried state, that if damped a century after it was first deprived of moisture, it acquires again the bright silvery look of ligament or tendon. I was struck by this in recently washing the ligaments of Eclipse's skeleton. The quantity of water, as compared with solid matter in animal tissue, is sometimes so great, that Owen found a jelly-fish, weighing 2 lbs., contain only 16 grains of solid matter. It usually exists in the higher animals in the enormous proportion of 70 per cent. Eobin and VerdeU found ia the difi'erent solids and fluids the following proportions of water: — Quantity of Water in 1000 parts in Epidermis . 37 Bile . 880 Teeth . 100 Milk . 887 Bones 130 Pancreatic juice . 900 Cartilage . 550 Urine 936 Muscle . 750 Lymph 960 Ligament . 768 Gastric juice 975 Brain .. 789 Perspiration 986 Blood 795 Saliva 995 Synovial fin id . . 805 28 DIGESTION AND FOOD. But the oxygen and hydrogen, which form water, may be aseful in the system in ways demanding their separation. In the rapid strides made in organic chemistry within the last few years, ample illustrations have been discovered of this remarkable fact. When simply coming in contact with car- bonic acid, which is always present in the system, the most remarkable compounds are produced Starchy and saccharine principles, out of which animal fat may be formed, contain only elements met with in carbonic acid and water. The following table proves this : — Substance formed Name. Formula. Carbonic acid Water used used in eqs. in eqs. Oxygen separated in eqs. Cellulose ^12 Hjo Oio 12 10 .24 Starch ^12 Hio Oio 12 10 24 Cane Sugar . Oi2 Hii On 12 11 24 Gum Ci2 Hii Oil 12 11 24 Grape Sugar, dry . Cl2 Hi2 Oi2 - 12 12 24 Grape Sugar, crystals Cl2 Hi4 Oi4 12 14 24 As Gregory says, this important group contains, in every instance, hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion to form water, so that the whole of the oxygen of the carbonic acid, but not that of the water, has been separated. They may be viewed theoretically as formed of carbon plus water; thus starch may be C12 + 10 HO. Water, as an alimentary principle, is found taken into the system either alone or charged with organic and inorganic constituents, or in combination with articles of food. Some people think there are animals that need not and should never drink, such as the rabbit, the sheep, and even the kangaroo. But this mistaken popular notion has arisen from these animals deriving enough water for their purposes from a suc- culent vegetable diet. Peed the rabbit on dry bran, and he ml] like a little water. Place the sheep in the desert, and it INOEGAlflC CONSTITXJENTS. 29 will hunt for water like any other animal susceptible of thirsty sensations. Water not only carries into the system materials capable of solution, but it holds in suspension substances which, in some cases, are nutritious, but in others may be poisonous. The purest water is not necessarily the best for man or animals, and it is to the absence of some saline constituents in mountaiu waters that cretinism has been ascribed in the Alps. Dirty water is not necessarily injurious, but there is probably no more prolific source of disease in man and animals. This was proved in regard to cholera. Dr Lankester tells us, in his interesting popular lectures: "In 1854! I was requested, by the Vestry of the Parish of St James, Westmiaster, to examine the water from the pump in Broad Street, Golden Square. The cholera had broken out there, and killed five hundred people in less than a week, and the late Dr Snow had accused the pump of doing all this mischief Now I detected nothing remarkable in that water but the filaments of a fungus. It was a very curious fungus, and interested me so much, that I published an account of it.* Its dis- covery in the water led to an investigation of the con- dition of the weU, and then it was discovered that the weU had for some time been in communication with the cesspool of an adjoining house, and subject to periodical overflows of its contents. I have since seen these flocculent fungi in im- pure water, and you will easily recognise them in the organic contents of well-water and sewer-water. These fungi-form filaments are accompanied with sombre, ugly-looking ani- malcules, which are seldom found in pure water. There is also an ill-favoured-looking little worm, much smaller than a thread-worm, and belonging to the same family of ■* Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, vol. iv. 30 DIGESTION AND FOOD. animals, whicli constantly presents itself in impure waters. These things Hve in water containing decomposiag animal and vegetable matter; and it is this matter which is injurious. So that, although the living creatures themselves are not in- jurious, the water they live in is." On the subject of organic impurities, Dr Lankester says: " Organic matters may be dissolved in water, and then they cannot be found by the microscope. The chemist estimates these by the quantity of nitrogen which he obtains from the deposit of water which has been evaporated; but it is very difficult to estimate this form of impurity. I have found the permanganates of potash and soda a very good rough test for ascertaining the presence of this dissolved matter. Per- manganic acid and the permanganates contain large quantities of oxygen; and, when they are brought in contact with organic matters, they lose their oxygen and become changed m colour. If you take permanganate of soda, which is sold in the shops under the name of Condy's Disinfecting Fluid, and put it into pure water, it produces first a deep violet, and afterwards a beautiful permanent red colour. If the water, however, contains organic matters, the red colour soon dis- appears, and in proportion to the quantity of organic matter wUl be its decolorizing agency. Now, if you take a series of waters of different degrees of impurity, you will find that the water which has least impurity retains the most colour. I have tried this in so many instances with a perfectly success- ful result, that I can confidently recommend it as a test for ascertaining the relative quantities of impurity in water. The same test has been appUed by Dr Angus Smith for ascer- taining the organic impurity of the atmosphere; and by this means he has arrived at some very interesting results. It should, however, be recollected that many other impurities besides those of organic origin may exist in the atmosphere CHLOEIDE OE SODIUM. 3.1 and act upon the permanganate. This is the case, for instance, with sulphurous acid, which is constantly present ia an atmo- sphere where coal and coal gas are burned." II. Chloride op Sodium. — Common salt enters largely into the composition of animals and vegetables; and when absent in the food of the former, a morbid craving for it is frequently observed. Its effects on the system, when directly introduced, are most salutary; and, ia some diseases, it is valuable as a preventative and curative. It is composed of two elements possessiag powerful chemical affinities. The one is an actively bleaching gas, chlorine; and the other a metal, susceptible of very ready oxydation, sodium. These elements are not separated in the system; and one of the greatest uses they serve in. combination is not in connection with chemical changes, but rather with the physical transuda- tion, or endosmosis and exosmosis occurring so constantly in the system. The quantity of common salt in different constituents of the body, is stated by Robin and Verdeil as follows, in 1000 parts : — Muscles . 2-0 BUe . . 3-5 Bones . . 2-5 Blood . . 4.5 Milk . . 1-0 Mucus 6 Saliva . 1.5 Aqueous Humour . 110 Urine . 3.0 Vitreous Humour . 140 The value of common salt, as an article of diet, is proved by experiments, performed by Boussingault, on bullocks. He gave three 500 grains of salt per day, and other three had none. He says : " Though salt, administered with the food, has but little effect in increasing the size of the animal, it appears to exert a favourable influence upon his qualities and general aspects. Until the end of March (the experiment began in October), the two lots experimented on did not 32 DIGESTION AND FOOD. present any marked difference in their appearance ; but in the course of the following AprU, this difiference became quite manifest, even to an unpractised eye. The lot No. 2 had then been without salt for six months. In the animals of both lots, the skin had a fine and substantial texture, easily stretched and separated from the ribs ; but the hair, which was tarnished and disordered iii the bullocks of the second lot, was smooth and glistening in those of the first. As the experiment went on, these characters became more marked; and, at the beginning of October, the animals of lot No. 2, after going without salt for an entire year, presented a rough and tangled hide, with patches here and there, where the skins were entirely uncovered. The bullocks of lot No. 1 retained, on the contrary, the ordinary aspect of stall-fed animals. Their vivacity and their frequent attempts at mount- ing contrasted strongly with the dull and unexcitable aspect presented by the others. No doubt the first lot would have commanded a higher price in the market than the second." Chloride of sodium favours digestion so much, and seems to excite the appetite to such an extent, that it is not to be recommended on farms where animals are liable to diseases arising from plethora ; and, though I have known it prescribed for splenic apoplexy, it is attended vrith an unfavourable effect by stimulating the production of blood. I have before said that chloride of sodium does not materially induce chemical changes in the body, and this is proved by Barral's researches, which indicate that, only a very small quantity disappears in the body, and, probably, undergoes there a double decomposition, with phosphate of potass forming chloride of potassium and phosphate of soda. Chloride of sodium is freely thrown off by the secretions — a certain quantity, however, remaining in the blood, and the pro- portion there found being subject to very slight variations. J PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 33 III. Phosphate of Lime tas been termed bone earth, from its hardening osseous tissue, though found in various other parts of the body. Eobin and Verdeil state the quan- tity of this essential principle to be, in 1000 parts of the following substances : — Enamel . 885 Muscles . 2.5 Dentine . 643 Blood . . 0.3 Bones . 550 Gastric juice 0.4 Cartilages . . 40 Phosphate of Ume is readily absorbed by milk, and exists in solution in the blood. It is deposited in solid tissues, where it combines intimately with the animal basis of the structure, and from which it can be separated by macera- tion in dilute hydrochloric acid, so that a bone may in a short time be twisted in any direction, and turned into a knot, as represented at Pig. 9. Phosphate of lime is a crystaUizable salt, but it is not in this form that it is met with in bones in which it would appear that the presence of fluoride of calcium prevents crystallization. Phosphoric acid, not only in combina- tion with lime, but free, is a most im- portant element in the animal economy. Possessed of powerful chemical afiini- ties, this remarkable acid exists in the ^e- 9- (Dalion.) blood and the tissues only to contribute to their integrity and healthy state, whereas, without the body, it is dangerous to animal life. Phosphate of magnesia is always in conjunction with phosphate of lime, and alkaHne phosphates of soda and potash 34 DmE8TI0M AND FOOD. are likewise met with -in solids and fluids, and it has been supposed that it is to these that the alkalinity of the blood and other fluids is dua Carnivorous animals receive a proper supply of phosphates from animal food, and especially from bones, whereas vegetable feeders obtain them largely from the grasses. It is owing to the latter circumstance that the value of phosphatic manures has been recognised; and in proportion that the phosphates are soluble and capable of nourishing the plants, are they valuable in fertiUziag the land. There are many districts in the south of Scotland and north of England, where, by a judicious combination of phosphatic and anuno- niacal manures, a disease attended with softening of the bones, and termed " the Stifihess,'' or " the Cripple,"* might be prevented — the phosphates being essential to supply a want in the plants, and the ammoniacal principles favouring the full development of a luxuriant vegetation. Dr Lankester refers to an interesting feature in the history of phosphate of lime. He says : — " Liebig has shown that it is highly probable that one of the causes that led to the destruction of the great cities of antiquity was the difficulty of obtaining a supply of food for their inhabitants. As they went on increasing, the soils in the immediate viciiaity became exhausted of the phosphate, and, at last, refused to grow food at all. As the means of transit were not so perfect as they are now, men found it easier to go to places where the virgin soil produced abund- ance of food, than to bring the food to their cities. Hence the migrations of peoples, and the desolation of once busy cities. In America this process is going on every day. When a district is exhausted of its mineral food, the farmer * See Edinburgh Veterina/ry Beview, vol. iii. FLUORIDE OF CALCIUM. 35 finds it easier to transport Ms whole family and possessions to the backwoods, where there is a virgin soil, than to send to a distance for his manures to fertilise his land. It has been, then, a most providential event for Europe the discovery of these artificial manures, for we have been consuming our own food, the phosphates of our soils; and instead of returning them to the land, throwing them into the sea. But even these artificial sources may fail, and then, unless we have learned the art of recovering the phosphates we have used for our Mfe, it will be our turn to share the fate of the cities of antiquity, and men wiU point to the ruins of our cities, as we now do to those of Babylon, and Tyre, and Sidon." I need scarcely add how noble the mission of the agricul- turist is, when, by the light of science and mature experience, he can multiply the plants, increase according to our require- ments the number of animals and invigorate their constitu- tions, thus tending largely to enhance the prosperity of his country. IV. Pluoeide of Calcium is found in bone in the propor- tion of 3 or 4 per cent., but more largely in fossil bones, in which it exists in quantities as high as 12 or 15 per cent. It is believed that this is due to the more ready solution and removal of phosphate of lime from bone by water, charged with carbonic acid, so that the proportions vary materially accord- ing to the state of preservation of osseous remains. Fluoride of calcium probably renders bones tough by preventing the crystallization of the phosphate. V. Caebonate of Lime is a salt entering into the system of animals and plants in the form of a soluble bi-carbonate which is contained in good water. In this soluble form it exists in the secretion of the salivary glands, in the blood, and in the urine of herbivora. It is met with in some parts of the body in a crystalline form, but more largely, as in the 36 DIGESTION AND FOOD. bones, in combination with phosphate of lime, as an amor- phous, granular, earthy principle, destined to contribute to the solidity of the skeleton. In invertebrate animals, the carbonate of lime forms the basis of the solidifying prin- ciples of shells, scales, &c. VI. Caebonate of Soda is found in the blood, lymph, saliva, and other secretions of herbivorous animals, and in smaller proportions in man, and other omnivorous and carnivorous animals. The quantity, if any, under many circumstances, is with difficulty appreciated, from the readiness with which the salt is formed during the incineration of organic matters. VII. Carbonate of Potash, like the preceding salt, obeys much the same laws, and is found under similar circumstances. Potash is a most essential element in the food of man and animals. It is found largely in many plants. Eegarding the origin of the alkaline salts, we find that they are partly intro- duced as such with the food, and partly the result of chemical changes within the body. "Lehmann found, by experiments upon his own person, that within thirteen minutes after taking half an ounce of lactate of soda, the urine had an alkaline reaction. He also observed that, if a solution of lactate of soda were injected into the jugular veins of a dog, the urine became alkahne at the end of five, or, at the latest, of twelve minutes. The con- version of these salts into carbonates takes place, therefore not in the intestines, but in the blood. The same observer found that, in many persons living on a mixed diet, the urine be- came alkaline in two or three hours after swallowing ten grains of acetate of soda. These salts, therefore, on being introduced into the animal body, are decomposed. Their organic acid is destroyed, and replaced by carbonic acid; and they are then discharged under the form of carbonates of soda and potass." IRON. 37 There are various principles which, may be obtained from the body of an animal, or from the substance of a vegetable, and vrhich are recognised as important in inducing important chemical changes in the body. To these the chloride of sodium, carbonates, and phosphates already referred to be- long. Iron must be regarded as one. The rapid manner in which the weak and emaciated animal rallies under treatment by ferruginous tonics indicates their powerful reconstructive properties. The blood, once poor and watery, becomes plas- tic, of a deep red colour, and maintains a great activity of function. So remarkable is the influence exerted by iron on the production of blood red, that the latter was believed to be a red salt of iron, untU Graham proved that there was not sufficient iron in the blood to colour it, and Scherer demon- strated that haematine retained its properties though the iron was dissolved out of it. VIII. Ieon. — Common salt is extensively diffused over the globe, in every substance, organic and inorganic, and so is iron. Our soils contain large quantities, and hence the plants receive it, through which animals acquire their necessary, though small, proportion. It is not a little remarkable that this constituent of blood and tissue, though in infinitesimal quantities, cannot be dispensed with. I have often quoted Dr Lankester's Lectures on Food; and we find in them, on the subject of iron : " The French are in the habit of performing the process of incremation on their dead friends; that is to say, instead of burying them, they burn them, which is a much more wholesome process. The Romans burned their dead, and collected their ashes in an urn, which they kept as a memorial; but the Frenchmen do better than this: they would not be Frenchmen unless they could improve upon the old Eoman plan. The French, after burning their friends, take the ashes and extract the iron, and convert it 38 DIGESTION AND FOOD. into a mourning ring, which they wear in memory of their dead friends. Here, then, we have a very conclusive proof that iron really exists in the human body." The circumstance here referred to cannot apply to any regTilar practice, because the French bury their dead as we do; still, in evidence of obtaining a certain quantity of iron from blood, I may mention that a Paris physician used to wear a little iron ball on his watch-guard composed of iron obtained from human blood. He must have laboured hard to obtain a sufficient quantity, as the amount of irpn in blood ■ is not very great. Poggiale found in 1000 parts the following proportions in man and animals: — Man. Ox . Cow Calf. Dog . 1-26 Cat . 1-25 Sheep 1-43 Eabbit 1-11 Hen 1-45 Pigeon 1-23 106 0-97 0-75 0-62 Iron, as an element of the animal frame, ranks in impor- tance with common salt and phosphate of lime; and, as Liebig says, " It is quite certain that if iron be excluded from food, organic life cannot be supported." Manganese is another metal supposed by s(&ne essential to the integrity of many animal structures. It is an ingredient of Scotch soil, and hence through plants finds its way into Scotch blood and muscle ; but manganese cannot be regarded in the same light as iron. It is not essential to life. Lehmann refers to proximate principles of animals and vegetables, which he caUs accidental mineral substances. He mentions, under this head — alkaUne sulphates, carbonate of magnesia, manganese, arsenic, copper, lead, ammoniacal salts, and sulphocyanide of sodium. AlkaUne sulphates, except in the bones of reptiles and fishes, do not exist as such except in rare instances, and HYDRO -CAEBONACEOUS PEINCIPLES. 39 then in small quantities, in the structures of our domestic animals. Carbonate of magnesia is rare in the tissues of animals. It is found in the urine of herbivora, being derived from the cereals, from which traces of it are to be obtained. It would appear that the widely diffased oxide, arsenic, is removed from the bodies of animals with some difiSculty, and it has been regarded by some as a necessary princijjle of the body, and the same may be said of lead. Arsenic readily penetrates plants, and through them may, under certain favourable circumstances, find its way into the systems of our domestic animals. Free ammonia, which is supposed always present in the blood, has been alluded to by Dr Benjamin Richardson as one of the most important proximate princij)les of animals, inasmuch as to it is due the persistent fluidity of the vital fluid. Some arguments and facts can be supported in opposi- tion to Dr Eichardson's views, but, according to him, it is the proximate principle most readily separated from the body, because escaping the moment the blood-vessels are opened and blood drawn. In some diseases ammoniacal salts exist in the blood, and it were interesting if their presence could be demonstrated in the many disorders so suddenly fatal in animals, and which depend on an almost instantaneous change in the constitution of and tendency to coagulation in the blood. The sulphocyanide of sodium referred to by Lehmann is only found in saliva. Other chemists state it to be a sulpho- cyanide of potassium, and not of sodium. Hydeo-Cabbonacbous oe Heat-Giving Peinciples op Pood. — The more we extend our knowledge on the nature of food and the principles on which our domestic animals are to be fed, the more must we recognise the importance of this 40 DIGESTION AND POOD. interesting group of substances. If the proportions held to other alimentary principles is considered sufficient to deter- mine their relative value, we must class the hydro-carbons first in the list, though much depends on the climate in which animals Uve. Amongst us, the consumption of heat- giving food is and must necessarily be enormous, and to the horse, destined as he is for fast work, the supply of materials for the rapid combustion which must incessantly go on in his system must be very great. I. Staech (Ci2 Hio Oio) stands at the head of this group. It was for long considered characteristic of plant structure, but, within the last few years the researches of microscopic anatomists have proved the existence of amyloid or starchy bodies in the tissues of animals. Herbivorous quadrupeds are constantly receiving various kinds of starch into their systems. The varieties are distin- guished by a peculiar shape of the granule, as indicated by the microscope. They all indicate the same chemical proper- ties, being transformed into dextrine or British gum by the action of saliva or malt. In both cases, a nitrogenous body — an animal diastase — is regarded as inducing the change, though this is brought about even by heating starch to a certain point in sealed tubes, with water- containing l-500th part of oxalic acid. The dextrine, which passes into the intestines or which continues to be acted upon as above, is further transformed into glucose or grape-sugar, in which fonn the hydro-carbons are largely found in the blood of the mesenteric veins of any of our domestic animals, and, strange to say, in carnivora as well as herbivora. Starch is tested by iodine, with which it forms a blue colour, supposed to be ovring to the iodine becoming finely divided, and adhering to the starch as a dye does to the fibres of cloth. It is glucose that we find in the blood of animals, and SATS AND OILS. 41 especially in the veins, and the liver exerts a most important fimction in connection with the transformation of these saccha- rine elements, whereby they are either better prepared for im- mediate combustion, or for the production of animal fats, &c. Cane sugar supplies the system with a similar principle, and is readily transformed into glucose or grape-sugar. There are, however, other sugars found in the animal organism, such as lactine, or sugar of milk, which is obtained by evaporating clarified whey. It is thus obtamed in the form of hard, white crystals, soluble in 5 or 6 parts of cold and 2| of hot water. It is susceptible of the vinous, lactic, and butyric fermentations; and it is well known (says Gregory) that some nations prepare an intoxicating Hquor from nulk by fermentation. Inosite is a saccharine principle obtained from the juice of flesh, and is not susceptible of undergoing alcoholic fer- mentation. II. Pats ai^d Oils. — The rapid production of fat in the body is an indication of how readUy the hydro-carbons derived from the vegetable world are transformed into the heat-producing elements of the animal organization. Fat enters largely into the composition of many substances, but is more especially stored up in adipose tissue. It is a vesicular structure, blended with the connecting tissue of the body, and becoming largely distended with fatty prin- ciples in animals in a state of obesity. Fat is deposited in the bones, where it constitutes the ' marrow.' It tends to pre- serve form, and, where it is destined for this office, it does not readily waste, especially in a pcisition such as within the eye- socket of the horse. The origin of fat in the body is three-fold: — "First, it is derived ready formed from plants; secondly, it is foimed, in the absence of oxygen, or, when oxygen is deficient, by the 42 DIGESTION AND FOOD. deoxidation of sugar, wMcli ttus supplies tlie oxygen wanted ; and tkirdly, it is also formed by a species of fermentation, along with carbonic acid and hydrogen, the latter being con- verted into water by the oxygen of the blood." — (Geegory.) Both in animals and vegetables do the oils exist in vesicles, from which they may be expressed, and appear in the shape of minute globules of various sizes in the field of the microscope. Animal fats are divided into two groups — those that are saponifiable, and those that are not saponifiable. The first undergo decomposition when in the presence of an alkali, so that the fatty acid set free combines with the latter to form soap, and a base, glycerine, is deposited. It is this change that the saj)onifiable fats undergo when acted upon by the intestinal juices, which are capable of forming a fatty emul- sion. Fats being themselves insoluble, cannot be absorbed until thus modified by the pancreatic and other secretions. Glycerine is a dense, sweet liquid, which does not readily decompose, and, when introduced into the system, acts much like cod-liver oil. The crystalline fats met with ia animals such as cholesterine and serolin, are developed there by chemical changes, and do not exist in vegetable matter. With regard to cholesterine, there would appear to be some relation between it and the acids of bUe. Nitrogenous Peinciples. — The third great group of prin- ciples essential in food, because existing as constituents of animal tissue, are the nitrogenous or albuminoid. They exist in both animal and vegetable matter — albumen in the first, and gluten in the second, being typical of the class. Albumen, fibrine, and caseine are the principal albuminoid substances in animals, and they all contain a definite propor- tion of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, so that they NITKOGENOUS PEINCIPLES. 43 have been regarded, in accordance with a theory of Miilder, as compounds of a principle, proteine, which is supposed to consist of the four elements in the proportion referred to, and sulphur or phosphorus. Proteiae, according to Mulder, contains C40 N5 H31 O12, and the albumen of egg might be indicated as consisting of proteine lOeq. + leq. of sulphur and leq. of phosphorus. The objections to the proteine theory are, that no such compound perfectly free from sulphur exists; with regard to the phosphorus, regarded as charac- teristic of some substances, it probably only exists in a nim al tissues, in the form of salts of phosphoric acid; Mulder's formulse have been proved erroneous. The expression ' pro- teine compound' is, however, still used to indicate the albu- minoid group. The nitrogenous substances are characterised by the pre- sence of sulphur in them, by the absence of any crystalline form, by the complex chemical constitution above referred to, and which renders them most unstable compounds ; they yield at once to chemical changes when separated from the Uving organism, and especially if exposed freely to air, under the combined influence of heat and moisture. The albuminoid substances agree in certain chemical characters : — " They dissolve, with the aid of heat, in potash, and the solution blackens the salts of lead, proving that part at least of the sulphur is present in an unoxidised state. They all dissolve, with the aid of heat, in strong, hydrochloric acid, yielding, if air be admitted — not otherwise — a purple solution, which after a time changes to a dark brown. The very acid liquid which is obtained by dissolving mercury in its own weight of nitric acid, gives a very intense red colour to all these substances. This character is so weU marked, that we can in this way detect the presence of 1 part of albu- men in 100-000 of water. When oxidised by sulphuric acid 44 DIGESTION AND FOOD. and peroxide of manganese, or by sulphuric acid and bichro- mate of potash, or by fusion with caustic potash, they all yield similar products; namely, compounds of the series of aldehyde; of that of acetic acid; of the nytrile series, benzoic acid, and oil of bitter almonds, leucine and tyrosine." — (Geegoey.) I have referred to the tendency to decomposition in these complex organic compounds. But a very remarkable feature of the group is their disposition to induce change in materials with which they come in contact, and often by catalysis — that is to say, without suffering change themselves. The peculiar tendency to solidify characterizes all proteine compounds, and the condition assumed is so peculiar as to merit the distinctive name ' coagulation.' Casein curdles or coagulates when acids are thrown in milk; fibrins coagulates spontaneously from exposure to air, and albumen hardens when heated. The whole of the albuminoid principles are susceptible of being simply dried, and thus transformed from the liquid to the soHd state; but in that condition they greedily absorb water, and are restored by it to their natural condition. They are termed hygroscopic from this peculiar property. The farmer supplies them in his crops by dressing the land richly with ammoniacal manure ; and, so important are the nitrogenous principles to life, that both animals and vegetables thrive most certainly and most rapidly when the' elements capable of forming proteine compounds are freely supplied them. Excess is injurious, and probably more so than excess in the supply of other principles, saline, or hydro-carbonaceous, which are more easUy stored or discharged from the system, and do not induce a dangerous plethora. I. Albumen. — Animal albumen is found in the shape of the white of eggs, and its analysis leads to the formula FIBKIKE. 45 C216 N217 S3 Hi69 Ofis, besides phosphates. The albumen of the blood's seram contains 1 eq. less sulphur. In vegetables albumen is sometimes fluid, but in most seeds it is solid. In animals it is always fluid, soluble in water, and coagulable at a temperature of 140° or 160°. The more diluted albu- men is, the greater is the heat required to harden it ; and when coagulated, it is insoluble in water. Mineral salts coagulate albumen, and this is particularly the case with corrosive sublimate, of which a very small quantity is required to induce the necessary change. It is the ready change which occurs by the approach between albumen and many of the poisonous mineral salts, which renders the former a valuable antidote in cases of poisoning. Creosote, acids, fer- rocyanide of potassium, and an iafusion of galls, are all capable of coagulating albumen ; and the gastric juice efiects this, in order that the solidified principle may be digested. II. PiBEiNB exists in smaU proportion in the blood of animals, and is the basis of their muscular system. It is spontaneously coagulable whenever it is removed from the body and exposed to the air. I must defer the consideration of the causes of coagulation and the natm'e of the pheno- menon for some future time; but I may mention, that within the vessel^ and in contact with living tissue it does not readily coagulate; and when this change has occurred, it ceases to be soluble in water or serum. In coagulating, it acquires a peculiar fibrous appearance, and is very bulky, from the quantity of water it contains. If acted on by acetic acid, it swells into a jelly-like, translucent, and tremulous mass, and is then soluble in boiling water. " Coagulated fibriae, whether vegetable or animal, when covered with water, and left to itself, undergoes a change ; a small part of it putrifies, and the rest is dissolved. The liquid, freed from fat by filtration, now contains albumen, coagulable by heat 46 niGESTION AND FOOD. and acids ; and this is accounted for by the fact, that the proportion of the organic elements is the same in both." — (Geegoey.) III. Caseins. — This, as Dr Gregory says, is the third great form of sanguigenous matter found in vegetables, and in largest proportion in leguminous seeds, hence called legumine. It is the azotised constituent of milk, and dis- tinguished from albumen by not coagulating under the in- fluence of heat, but by dilute acids, which are unable to coagulate albumen. " In milk, which is alkaline, caserne is dissolved, along with sugar of milk, salts, and suspended oil or butter. When milk turns sour, its alkali is gradually neutralised and overpowered by lactic acid, produced by the fermentation of sugar of mUk, and the caseine at last coagu- lates from the presence of free acid. It is absolutely certain that caseine, in the animal body, can yield albumen and fibrine, because young animals, fed on milk alone, produce blood and muscle, and mUk contains no other sanguigenous compound than caseine. Cheese is coagulated and pressed caseine, and when made from weU-skimmed milk, is nearly pure ; but that made from sweet milk or cream contains also much butter. The infusion of the lining membrane of a calf s fourth stomach, or rennet, as it is called, contains albumen or some other substance of a like nature, in a state of decay, that is, of decomposition. It acts on the sugar in mUk, con- verts a part of it into lactic acid, and thus causes coagulation; but as curd is formed before the milk has become sour, we must infer either that the caseine coagulates as soon as the milk becomes neutral, or that the ferment or rennet coagu- lates it by an action of contact. Perhaps both are true. Nay, it has been found that milk, even when made distmctly alka- Une, coagulates with rennet if warmed rather more than without the alkali Indeed, it would appear that the curd, a CASBINE. 47 coagulated caseine, is a componad of caseine witli phosphate of lime. Por if an acid be cautiously added, so as just to neutralise the alkali, the milk remains liquid, but coagulates on boiling, and this curd is like that from rennet, insoluble in alkaUne solutions, in which pure caseine is soluble. Ca- seine is the proper ferment for the lactic and butyric fermen- tation, as fibrine or gluten is for the vinous fermentation. The caseine of peas and beans is obtained by rubbing up the seeds with water, and allowing the starch to settle. We have then a solution of caseiae, turbid, and, but for the absence of butter and sugar, hardly to be distinguished from skimmed milk. The Chinese make cheese from peas and beans, and coagulate it by rennet. This cheese, when it decays or putri- fies, acquires the peculiar smell and taste which characterise the cheese from milk in the same states. Fresh cheese is tasteless, save for the butter in it ; but on keeping, oily acids, such as butyric and valerianic acids, and ammonia, are slowly formed, and hence the strong flavour of old cheese." The whole of the nitrogenous priuciples have a remarkable affinity for the phosphates, and this is most useful in the process of nutrition. Phosphates enter largely in solution in milk , which is thus rendered fit nutriment for a young animal requiring bone earth to harden its skeleton, and albu- men performs the same ofiice for the chick in ovo. There are many other substances in. plants and animals containing nitrogen, and a very remarkable group in the latter may be classed under the head 'Extractive matters.' By this we mean substances obtained besides aU we have mentioned, and which are soluble in water, but some also in water and rectified spirit, and others likewise in pure alcohol. The gelatinous class of nitrogen-containing principles is a very important one. Gelatine is the basis of the connective and white fibrous tissue, and in a slightly modified form, as 48 DIGESTION AND FOOD. chondrin, it is found in cartilage and a few other structures. Gelatine is not coagulable like the albununoid priaciples, but it is in the form of a tremulous mass when cold, and liquifies on the addition of heat. It is precipitated by tannic acid, alcohol, aether, and corrosive sublimate, but not by the prus- siate of potash. Its formula is C82 N13 Hgy O32. Gregory says that the property of gelatinizing depends on the presence of phosphates; for when gelatine is long boiled with water alone, or with a little alkali, phosphate of lime is deposited, and the solution no longer forms a jeUy on cooling. Chond- rine, though regarded as a form of gelatine, differs from it in being precipitated when in solution by acids, alum, and salts of lead, which do not precipitate the latter. Gelatine has been considered by various authorities as in- nutritious, but though, like other materials, iasuflScient in itself to support life, nevertheless it forms one of the useful elements of food. As Lewes says, " Bernard has shown that part of the gelatine is converted into sugar; and sugar, we know, is necessary to the organism. It may also be converted into fat; and, as has been said, there is much evidence to show that it may be converted into albiunen, among the com- plex processes of vital chemistry; but whatever may be the de- cision respecting this point, there can be no legitimate reason for denying that gelatine ranks among nutritive principles." The conclusions to be drawn from the knowledge possessed regarding the proximate principles of food are : — Firstly, That they approach as nearly as possible the con - dition in which they exist in animals. Secondly, That the want in food of any of the proximate principles of animal tissue often induces a special craving for it, and mist be supplied to prevent disorder. Thirdly, That no single element contains that which is necessary for the maintenance of life, and we cannot declare MASTICATION. 49 a material inniitritious because, when given alone, it is in- suiBcient to nourisL Fourthly, The proximate principles vary in proportions in different kinds of food, and a combination of various forms of the latter is essential in all animals. The facts brought out in the foregoing pages are essential ia order that we may understand the process of digestion in the lower animals, and after describing the changes which the different principles imdergo in the alimentary canal, I shall refer to foods and the methods of feeding. Mastication. — In many animals food has to be divided and triturated in the mouth between teeth, which are lodged in bony jaws, and these moved by powerfal muscles. There are two distinct jaws : the upper, immovable; and the lower, which, by a joint with the temporal bone, moves away from or closes on to the upper jaw. The character of the joint indicates the habits of the animaL The rodent is en- dowed with back and forward movement by the disposition of the articular head of the lower jaw, and its corresponding con- cavity. In the camivora a simple opening and closing or champing is ensured by the arrangement of the bones, and in herbivora a lateral and partially rotatory movement is possible. The teeth, lodged in the jaws for mastication, and acting also as offensive and defensive organs, are either simple or compound. Compound teeth are only observed in herbivorous animals, presenting a surface composed of materials varying in density and hardness, so as to ensure a constantly rough surface for the purposes of grinding (see Fig. 25.) A good mUlstone is composed of materials which wear with a different degree of rapidity, and thus the surface rubs down most effectually the materials over which it passes. The simple tooth, as shown at Fig. 20, is all covered by solid enamel or ivory, of a distinct white colour, and harder" than any other 50 DIGESTION AND FOOD. structure iu the body. In the compound tooth the enamel dips into the surface of the crown, and in some animals, as the elephant, we may regard a compound tooth as a series of flattened teeth arranged in a row, and coimected by a structure caUed cement, or crusta petrosa. This cement only covers the fang of a simple tooth, whereas it dips in between the layers of enamel in compound teeth, and when the tooth is stiU wholly enclosed within its cavity, a layer of cement covers the crown also. The pointed fang or fangs of the teeth are pierced by an opening which enters a cavity shown at Figs. 12 or 18. This is the pulp cavity, containing blood- vessels and nerves, which ramify in a dehcate fibro-cellular structure, constituting the pulp. The latter is prolonged all over its surface into an infinite number of small funnel-shaped apertures, which are continuous with tubes of the dentine or inner structure of the tooth. The dentine constitutes the bulk of both crown and fang, and a section of the dentine proves it to be formed of a densely packed mass of tubes with distinct walls, and which run from the pulp cavity to the outer surface of the dentine, near which they ramify. In this course the dentinal tubes bend, and have a beautiful wavy appearance. The material between the tubes, or matrix of the dentine, is a perfectly homogenous substance, arranged probably in all animals in superimposed layers. The enamel is composed of pentagonal or hexagonal long prisms or enamel fibres, closely packed together and arranged in a radiating manner from the dentiual or attached surface. The enamel prisms take a course outwards, similar to that of the dentinal canals, and decussate, so that entire band- shaped layers of them extend ia very various directions from the dentiae as far as the outer surface of the enamel. The enamel covers the crown, and passes over the neck of the tooth, getting thin and only partially covering the fang. MASTICATIOK. 51 The cement is the trae bone of tooth, or substantia os- toidea. I have said that in a compound tooth the wearing surface is composed of materials of different degrees of hardness. The substances are the enamel, dentine, and crusta petrosa or cement, the chemical composition of which explains this cir- cumstance, as seen by the annexed table. Dentine. Enamel. Cement. Organic substances, . . . 28-01 3-59 32-24 Inorganic substances, . . 71 '99 96-41 67-76 Thus the sharp angles and prominences of the compound teeth (see Pig. 23), are formed by enamel, the deeper hollows by wearing of cement, and the material worn between the two is the dentine. I have referred to the pulp, which is a vascular structure endowed with exquisite sensibility, and lodged in the central cavity of the tooth (see Fig. 21.) The pulp is popularly termed the ' quick ' of the tooth, aud when exposed to the contact of air or foreign substances, great pain is felt by man or animal But, in addition to the pulp, we have connected with the teeth, the membrane or periosteum lining the tooth socket, which is applied over the fangs, is soft, and contains vessels and many delicate nerves. The last of the soft tissues compose the gum, which is the lining membrane of the mouth reflected over the jaw, and embracing the necks of the teeth. Authors are not all agreed as to the periods of eruption and change in the teeth occurring in the domestic animals, and this may be seen by comparing Kreutzer's table on the annexed page with the tables which follow it, especially as regards the dentition in ruminants and in the pig. 52 DIGESTION AND FOOD. ^ S O P O I Q O H f^ .a o 1= a o ■^i a ; add:.*: a ^ ■« *? : "-o-d • ■ • * ^ !>. ^ ^ >,^ : : : . 1 Ho» -*» -W HOI H« -^iHW W (N CO -* iH cq CO CO 1 s&i . ill hi =ii P4 1 „vo o-a-" te ^•oj= d d S « >! : Befor few after d 14 aft«r 2-3 r1 S E e s s « w ; g ^ d i • '^ • • O 50 >-a t^ >1 t^ -a !>, • • • • 1 .^« HW HW HO -«* IM CO -* (M en > 1 1 Before or a few days after birth. 4^6 weeks. .• i i .2 Before or a few days after birth. do. do. 10-12 mo. 14-2 years. 4-5 years. ^ : ' M 30113. ddle... 1 e " 1 M ■i rH CTOT-*IOtOt~ 11 |6 S o o 1 St TEETH IN HEEBIVOEA. 53 In order to consider this subject more fully, we may com- mence with the Teeth in Heebivoea. — The incisor teeth vary in impor- tance in our grass-feeding animals, and are absent ia the upper jaw of the rumiaant, where their place is occupied by the fibro-elastic pad referred to at page 13. In the horse there are two pairs of tushes, and we observe twelve large molars in the upper and lower jaw. In front of the molars there are occasionally small rudimentary teeth, called by horsemen wolves' teeth, and various superstitions are connected with these accidental and harmless elements of the dental apparatus. The molar teeth of the horse have the grooves produced by the cement arranged longitudinally to favour mastication. (See Fig. 23.) To deteemine the Age op the Hoese by the Teeth.^ — It is chiefly by the incisor teeth that we can tell how old a horse is, and it is important to consider the change ia shape and general appearance which these teeth undergo. There are temporary and permanent incisors. The jBxst have a broad crown, flattened somewhat from before back, with a wearing surface far wider from side to side than from behind forwards. They have a distinct neck, and a narrow sharp fang. The appearance of the temporary teeth is sheUy, and there is a well-marked depression or infundlbulum on the upper aspect. The front of the tooth is of a pearly white, and grooved or fluted. (See Figs. 10, 14.) The permanent incisor is much larger than the temporary. Its crown thicker, of a duUer colour, and the cavity or infimdibulum is deeper. (See Figs. 17, 18.) The neck of the tooth is not so well defined, and as the animal acquires age, we find a very re- markable change in the shape. This is best seen at Fig. 19, which represents different sections of the permanent iacisor as its surface appears from progressive wear. 54 DIGESTION AND FOOD. TO DETEEMINE AGE OF HOESES BY THE TEETH. 55 It is from birth to tke age of eight years that, from the condition of the " marks " or dark cavities in the table of the incisors, we can determine the age of the horse. There are deceptive cases. I especially allude to this, because whatever may be our knowledge of the horse, we may occa- sionally, though very rarely, be deceived by the very marks which are our surest guides. I have seen aU the marks per- fect, and the incisors presenting a youthful appearance in a horse verging on twenty. Eecently I examined an aged horse, which might have passed for a six-year-old from the shape and marks of the incisors. The molar teeth are rarely looked at in determining the age of the horse, but they furnish valuable corroborative evidence on certain occasions, especially with young animals. They are not easily examined, but it is their number which in the colt confirms or negatives the opinion expressed as to the animal's age. The recently-formed molar has a shelly character, and prominent tubercles of enamel which soon wear down to form a broad grinding surface, and then the young and old teeth are not easily distinguished one from the other. The horse has six incisors above and six below. They are compound teeth, as shown at llg. 18, and the cavity extends downwards, having beyond and a little in front of it the pulp cavity, which in old horses is indicated, as the teeth wear down, by a dark hard structure, which then fills it, and which has been called osteo-dentine, I have before alluded to the difierence between the per- manent and temporary incisors. The latter are in perfect apposition as the colt approaches two years of age, and not unfrequently has an animal, and especially a pony, been bought for five from the temporary teeth being mistaken for permanent. The temporary incisor is gradually displaced by pressure 56 DIGESTION AND POOD. from the permanent. The latter advances, and, as shown at Fig. 19, has a shelly aspect, seen in a. At b, the incisor tooth indicates two years' wear; at c, the result of five years' friction; at d, niae years', and at /, abont seventeen years' wear. The shape of the wearing surface of the tooth is of great importance in determining- approximatively the age of old horses. Before eight years of age the eruptive changes and periodic appearances of the teeth are very regular and valuable in indicating the horse's age. The foal, at birth, indicates the fast approaching eruption of the two central incisors; sometimes these are through the gums when the animal is foaled; if not, they appear within the first month. Three molar teeth on each side of both upper and lower jaw are prominent, and in apposition for wear at the same time. One incisor on each side of the two central appears at six weeks, and then time is allowed for the jaws to grow. The cavities of reserve with teeth forming in them grow behind the teeth first formed, and by nine months the comer incisors protrude, and gradually grow until the .animal is a twelvemonth old, when all the colt's incisors are in full use. Within one and two years of age, little can be seen beyond a gradual wearing down of the tempo- rary teeth, and the protrusion through the gums of the molar, fourth in position, on each side of the two jaws. At two years the worn aspect of the incisors indicates the approach- ing displacement of the central ones, and the fifth molar tooth protrudes through the gums. Between two and three years the central permanent m- cisors displace the temporary, and are readily distinguished by their size, yellowish colour of the enamel, and dark infnn- dibulum. (Compare Figs. 10 and 12 with Figs. 17 and 18.) It is at this age that the Yorkshireman often knocks out the middle incisors to make the horse look "three DENTITION IN THE OX. 57 off," or " coming four." This often retards their eruption, which is always complete at four years, when the sixth molar tooth on either side of each jaw is also advanced through the gum. By this time the three temporary grin- ders or molar teeth, which are noticed shortly after birth, have given way to permanent teetL The lower tushes are felt through the membrane, between the corner incisor and first molar, as early as three years of age; but they only appear above it between four and five. It is at this age that the horse's mouth becomes fuUy furnished, and by five the whole of the iucisors are in fuU wear, and indicate the extent to which they have been worn proportionate to the period since their eruption. The central incisors then appear, as shown in b, Fig. 19, whereas the corner ones having just protruded, are shelly, as shown in a. At six years the central incisors lose their mark ; at seven this occurs with the middle ones ; and at eight all the in- fundibula are wojiti out, and the plate of the tooth is clean, and only very slightly marked in the comer teeth. Beyond this period the horse is stated to be aged. The incisors protrude straighter from the receding jaw — the teeth become narrower — and their wearing surface acquires a triangulai form, as seen af c, d, and /, Fig. 19. This distinguishes the old animal. Dentition in the Ox. — The incisor teeth of the lower jaw of the ox are simple, and eight in number. From the periods of eruption of both temporary and permanent teeth being regular, the age of the animal is readily recognised. Beyond the eruptive changes we observe the sharp teeth becoming more and more blunt and narrow, until reduced to very small stumps, which are seen in old cattle. The sub- joined table indicates the succession in the changes observed in the ox : — 58 DIGESTION AND POOD. SiMONDS. Table of Early Average Improved Breeds. SiMONDS. Table of Late Average Improved Breeds. GmARD. Table of Late Average (Unimproved Breeds). Yrs. Mo. No. of Teeth. Yrs. Mo. No. of Teeth. Yrs. Mo. No. of Teeth. 1 9 2 3 2 9 3 3 2 permanent incisors. 4 do. 6 do. 8 do. 2 3 2 9 3 3 3 9 2 permanent incisors. 4 do. 6 do. 8 do. 2 3 3 4 5 2 permanent incisors. 4 do. 6 do. 8 do. Dentition in the Sheep. — In the sheep the same remarks apply, and it is by the displacement of temporary, and erup- tion of the permanent teeth, that the age of this animal is also determined. Professor Simonds furnishes us with the annexed table: — TABLE OP EAELY DENTITION. TABLE OP LATE DENTITION. Years. Months. 1 Central pair of tempo- rary incisors replaced by permanent. 1 6 Second pair „ „ 2 3 Tliird „ ,, 3 Fourth „ „ Years. Months. 1 i Two permanent incisors. 2 Four 2 9 Six 3 6 Eight „ Teeth of Caenivoea and Omnivoea. — I have said that in camivora we have all simple teeth, that is to say, covered entirely over the crown by brilliantly white enamel. The row of sharp teeth is well adapted for its object. There are three pairs of incisors, or front cutting teeth, one pair of canines, and a certarti number of simple and cutting molars. It is the last pre-molars, or the first true molars, which are employed in chewing flesh; they are prominent and sharp. Behind these, especially in the dog, the teeth are armed with round tnbercules on their surface, destined for a crushing or DENTITION IN THE DOG. 0£ grinding action, and in breaking bones or gnawing long grass, the dog may be seen to push the substance between thes« back molar teeth. Dentition in the Dog.— The subjoined engraving (Fig 26), shows the form and position of the teeth of the dog Fig. 20. Their number in the upper and lower jaw is expressed in the following formula : — Incisors, — ; canines, -^^; molars, ^I_^42 6 1-1 7-7 The information we possess is furnished in Kreutzer's table at page 52. Girard is the only authority on the subject, and the following statement, as well as the illustrations, are derived from his work. This is a subject worthy of study, and I have the promise from kennels of the skuUs of hounds whose age is known, and by such means the observations of the old authors may be confirmed or corrected. As Grirard says, the dog is bom with the eyes shut, and which open on the 10th or 15 th day after birth. The whole of the Trn'llf teeth are usually cut then, or very shortly after. Between two and four months old the central incisors, and often even the middle ones of both upper and lower jaw, drop out, and speedily the whole of the permanent teeth are. fully developed, so as to complete the mouth by eight months. 60 DIGESTION AND FOOD. The inferior incisors begin to wear by fifteen months. At Fig. 27, the milli teeth are shown as seen in a puppy two or three months old, whereas Fig. 28 represents them in a year- rig. 27. llg, 28. old dog At eighteen months or two years, the inferior cen- tral incisors are much worn, and between two and three years (see Fig. 29) the middle ones are also worn. The worn in- Slg, 29. cisor bears a striking contrast with the young teeth as shown at Fig. 28, where the edge or border of the teeth is divided into three lobes, of which the most prominent constitutes the point of the tooth. " The two lateral lobes have the appear- ance of notches cut on either side of the principal lobe, and the imion of the three resembles the flewr-de-lis, which, how- ever, is, in the process of time, effaced by the wearing of the teeth." Between tnree and four years the upper central incisors are worn, and between four and five, the whole give indications DENTITION IN THE PIG. 61 of much use (see Figs. 30, 31). Beyond this period the teeth offer very uncertain signs of age. The bluntness and yellow cokur of the tushes and other teeth offer the best signs of increasing years. Kg. 30. Pig. 31. Dentition in the Pig. — This subject has acquired great importance in connection with the management of show- yards, and great credit is due to Professor Simonds and E. L. Hunt, Esq., veterinary surgeon, Birmingham, for the ac- curate knowledge regarding the age of the pig which they have acquired and disseminated. The pig is bom with eight teeth, wnich are foetal incisors and fcetal tushes. At one month four incisors are cut, be- sides three temporary molars on either side of each jaw. Two more temporary incisors are added to each jaw at three months, and all the milk teeth are then in position. The jaws and teeth grow, and at six months, "in most animals, but not in all, a small tooth comes up on either side of the lower jaw, behind the temporary tushes, between them and the molars, and in the upper jaw directly in front of the molars." These teeth have been mistaken for tushes. The fourth molar in position appears through the gum also at six months. The comer incisors are displaced, and permanent ones cut at nine months. The permanent tushes are also cut at this period, as well as the fifth molar on each side of either jaw. At one year the middle incisors are changed, and the 62 DIGESTION AND FOOD. tushes appear of considerable size. The deciduous molars are likewise shed at one year, and succeeded by permanent, " At eighteen months,'' says Professor Simonds, " or about this period, the dentition of the pig may be said to be com- pleted. Tills is effected by the cutting of the lateral incisors, and also of the last or sixth molar." Professor Simonds fur- nishes us with the following useful table : — At Birth One Month. Three Months. Nine Months. Twelve Months. Eighteen Months. -ni„, 1 \ Incisors Temporary Incisors Permanent Incisors Permanent Tusks 4 4 4 4 4 central 4 4 8 centra] and lateral 8 central and lateral 4 corner 4 {cut- ting.) 4 lateral 8 central and corner 4 12central, lateral, and comer 4 Total in both jaws 8 12 16 16 16 16 I have referred to the subject of age in connection with the process of dentition in our domestic quadrupeds, and it may not be inappropriate to allude to the fact that other signs indicate youth, adultism, and old age. In homed animals the horns grow annually a certain length, and this is shown by the appearance of an extra ring every year at the root of the horn. For the first two years the rings are so indistinct that in calculating the age in an animal five or six years old, the first ring indicates a three years' growth, so that an animal with six rings in its horn must be regarded as eight yeai-s of age. Fraud has been practised to destroy the marks of age. DENTITION IN THE PIG. 63 The angularity of form, sharpness of bones, and grey colour of the hair are not readily hidden, but teeth can be filed and marked, and horns scraped. Making false marks in the teeth is termed ' bishoping,' — a practice common amongst horse- copers. Why it should be called bishoping I cannot say, but it strikes me that the name was originally adopted as in- dicating cheating or cunning, for which prelates were long reputed famous. This opinion is strengthened by the follow- ing circumstance: — It is not usually known that when a horse is taken to a forge to be shod, that, instead of putting new shoes on, old ones are sometimes placed in the fire, heated and shaped to pass for new. Such shoes have always a red, rusty look, and in Italy are caUed ' cardinals.' There is evidently connection between the term ' bishop ' and ' car- dinal,' as both are used to designate a fraudulent practice, though, with regard to the last, as applied to old shoes, it is, perhaps, derived from the red colour, which is that of the cardinals' stockings. The grey hairs of animals are sometimes painted — this is called ' gypping.' In old horses the remarkable depressions behind the orbits are sometimes pricked and blown up with air ; this is called, in horse-coping language, ' puffing the glym.' It should be remembered that with animals as with the human subject, a well-authenticated certificate of birth is more reliable.than the opinion of a professional man as to age, however experienced he may be, and in the large majo- rity of instances, not liable to be misled. The fraudulent tricks can readily be detected by us, and the cases of most difficulty are those of animals in which the wear of the teeth does not go on regularly, and other signs of age may develop tardily. Just as we see hale, old men of seventy, who are taken for being fifty or little more, so may we see a fresh, old horse at twenty retain a remarkably youthful appearance. 64 DIGESTION AND FOOD. There are occasionally very singular conditions of the teeth of horses, and one of the most common is the persistence in the jaw of some of the temporary incisors. This arises from the latter not having been pressed upon by the advan- cing permanent teeth, and they then lose the colour and form of colt's teeth. I have known a horse with twelve incisors in the lower jaw, though most frequently the peculiarity only amounts to the presence of one or two extra teeth. Occa- sionally a tooth may be wantiag, either from having been removed or never having been developed. Even in these ex- ceptional cases, the appearances of the mouth are fair guides in ascertaining the age of horses. 65 CHAPTEE II. DIGESTION. — DISEASES OP TEETH. — INSALIVATIOK. Mastication. — Opening and closing the jaws. — Lateral action in herbivoia. Regularity in the action of the jaws. — ^The action slow. — Peculiarity in ruminants. — Movement in camivora. — Action of tongue during mastica- tion. — Injuries to the temporo-maxillaiy joints. — Dislocation. — Open joint. — Diseases of the javs. — Fractures. — Their consequences. — Scrofu- lous softening and degeneration. — Fibro-plastic growths, or osteo-sarcoma. — Abnormal state of the teeth. — Tumour on an incisor. — Buck teeth. 'Crib-biting.' — Its symptoms and prevention. — Fracture and dislocation of the incisors. — Removal of incisors. — Peculiarities and disease of the molar teeth. — Supernumerary teeth. — Wolf's teeth.- — Irregul^ties of de- velopment.— Fistulae on the forehead. — ^An instructive case in a colt. Molar pressing through the palate. — Irregularities in the rows of teeth. — Sharp edges of molars. — Excess in length of molars. — Caries. — Deposit of bone within the tooth socket. — Diseases of the dental pulp and of periosteum. — Symptoms of disease of teeth. — Operations on teeth. — 'Chewing a rasp.' — Erogniez's instruments. — Gowing's Instnmients. — Extraction of teeth. — Plugging teeth. — Insalivation. — Diseases of the salivary apparatus. — Funrtional disorders. — Concretions. — Parotitis. — Deglutition. The jaws and teeth are disposed, as we have abeady seen, for a very various action in carnivorous and her- bivorous animals. The mouth is opened by the relaxa- tion of the powerful masseters, the dropping of the lower jaw in consequence of its own weight and the action of the digastric muscle. In the horse, another muscle, the stylo-maxiUariSj aids materially in the same act. The closure of the mouth is effected by muscles which are extremely F 66 DIGESTION. powerful in carnivora, and very eiFective also in herbivorous quadrupeds. In the latter we observe a lateral movement which the French have called " mouvement de diduction," and which really is the movement of the axis of the lower jaw across that of the upper. It is rather a rotatory movement than a lateral displacement, one of the articulatory heads of the lower jaw being fixed or turning on its own centre, whilst the opposite one describes an arch. The nature of this lateral movement explains how it can only occur one way at a time, as Colin has shown by some very interesting experiments. All the organs of mastication act with a remarkable regu- larity in herbivorous animals, and we find that the movement of the lower jaw may persist from one side to the other, whichever it may be, for a quarter of an hour, and even for one whole hour at a time. Thus the lower jaw may move to the right and back to the left, the grinding process going on between the right molars, and vice versa. This unilateral movement, Colin says, may be observed in the horse, ass, mule, deer, hemione, zebra, rhinoceros, ox, buffalo, bison, an- telope, sheep, goat, and other ruminants. In all herbivorous animals mastication is slow, and Colin has found that, on an average, a horse requires an hour and a quarter to eat four pounds of hay, and of which, in chewing, he makes from sixty to sixty-five boluses. The process of mastication is much favoured by the flow of saliva, and the movements of the jaw are more numerous when this is scanty. The slow act of chewing in the horse is destined for the complete trituration of food which has to pass quickly through the stomach. The act of mastication and insalivation is more essential ' in the horse than in omnivorous or carnivorous animals, and if oats are passed through the mouth uncrushed, DISEASES OP THE JAWS. 67 or if the teeth are incapacitated from any circumstance, so that hay or any other food escapes grinding, the animal falls off in condition. In ruminating animals the act of chewing is very rapid and incomplete whilst the collection of food is going on, but there is a very slow and perfect mastication when the aliment is returned to the mouth during rumination. Carnivorous animals do not enjoy this lateral movement, from the fixed nature of the joint between the jaws, as well as the manner in which the teeth fix into each other, and do not present a surface for free lateral friction. The teeth are therefore adapted for the perforation of flesh by a simple closure of the jaws in aU carnivora, whereas they are truly grinders in the herbivora. The tongue, in connec- tion with mastication, rolls the food from side to side, and froro. before back, whereas the cheeks, also endowed with muscular power, press the food between the molars. DISEASES OF, AND INJURIES TO, THE OEGANS OF MASTICAl'ION. Injuries inflicted on the Joint between theTbmpobal Bone and Lower Jaw. — This joint is broad, well protected, and so formed as to render it not very liable to injury or disease, which, whenever present, is attended with much danger. In man, and some of the lower animals, dislocation backwards is possible. This is an accident unknown in the horse and large herbivorous quadrupeds. It is of extreme rarity even in the dog and cat, and occurs from the lower jaw being accidentally opened wider than is normally ad- mitted by the joint. The mouth being forced open in the cruel maimer we have seen adopted in giving some animals medicine, is apt to injure the joint. The displacement is 68 DISEASES OP THE JAWS. usually downwards, but sometimes to one side. The first form is termed complete, and the second incomplete. Treatment. — By pressing the thumb firmly against the neck of the lower jaw, grasping the latter with the other fingers, and then turning backwards and giving an upward direction to the chin, the jaw snaps iato its proper place. Hertwig says : " One man holds the animal's four legs and body still, and two assistants firmly fix the head. A bit of wood from 10 to 16 inches long, and from ^ to 1 inch thick, must be pressed between the jaws as far back as possible, and then the operator grasps the lower jaw and straightens it, pressing it firmly upwards against the stick. In this act a powerful leverage is obtained, whereby the bones are brought in apposition." The after-treatment consists in keeping the animal as quiet as possible. Open Joint. — Both horses and oxen are liable to blows and wounds over the temporo-maxillary joint. If the synovia or joint-oil flows at once after the infliction of the injury, we observe the part soon to swell, become hot and painful, and the glutinous discharge very abundant. Whenever the ani- mal moves the lower jaw, the discharge increases, and it soon becomes turbid and purulent. This formation of pus or matter is attended with progressive destruction by ulceration of the joint surface, and when a case has attained this point, in the horse, it must be regarded as incurable. (See Pig. 32.) The common result is a gradual diminution of the inflamma- tion, with increase rather than diminution of the swelling, and this is due to bony deposition. The joint may become fixed or anchylosed, the animal cannot masticate, and death is the inevitable result. The lateral action of the jaws in herbivora renders the accident more dangerous in them than in all the animals in which a simple opening and closing of the mouth is effected. DISEASES OF THE JAWS. 69 Fig; 32. 70 DISEASES OF THE JAWS. Treatment consists in applying a strap and head-collar on the horse and ox, such as the one represented below and used for fractures. (See Fig. 33.) Fig. 33. The animals should be allowed as much strong but very liquid gruel, milk, &c., as they wiU suck in, and the joint must be treated by cold fomentations for the first two or Ihree days, and if the wound is open, cold water dressing is the best application to ensure rapid healing. Poultices are with difficulty applied, and from their being often badly made and badly fixed on the part, do inore harm than good. As the wound improves, but even if inflammation should occur, the following lotion is of great value : Tincture of arnica, 1 oz., Goulard water, 1 oz., to 12 or 20 oz. of water. This must be used with layers of Hnt or linen tied over the part, and kept constantly wet with the mixture. The horse DISEASES OF THE JAWS. 71 or OX must not be allowed a particle of solid food until the opening is closed, whicli, in successful cases, will be obtained in about a week or ten days. AH means to close tie wound early, such as caustics and the hot iron, faiL Death in these cases may result from three causes. The most common is probably anchylosis, or bony deposition around the joint; the second in frequency is purulent infec- tion, or poisoning of the blood by pus or matter; and the third is tetanus or lock-jaw. Diseases of the Jaws. — The horse is not very subject to the peculiar degenerations of bones which implicate the face and lower jaw of cattle. I have only seen one instance o:^ apparently, scrofulous disease of the lower jaw in the horse. The subjoined cut indicates the amount of destruction which occurred by suppuration, the manner in which all the teeth became loose, and were only supported by the membrane of the guins, the teeth themselves escaping free from disease. (Fig. 34.) Such a condition is clearly incurable, and for- 7-2 DISEASES OF THE JAWS. tumately very rare. In the ox also a remarkable condition is represented by Figs. 35, 36, due to abscess in the jaw, whereby the bone has been destroyed and the teeth dis- placed: — j^ r'^^ Fig. 82. is SO large as to render it a mystery how the condition may at any time escape detection. Treatment. — In nuld cases, this consists in pouring tepid water in the guUet, and manipulating the crop so as to soften its contents and press them back through the mouth or on- wards into the stomach. In severe cases, no hesitation should be experienced in making a bold iacision, evacuating the crop, and drawing the lips of the wound together by silver wire suture. The fowl must then be fed for a few days on materials which do not need to lodge in the crop, in order to be prepared for the action of the guizzard, and well broken down meat with sloppy bread and milk, are the best forms of food for it. 196 parasites in the stomach, Parasites in the Stomach. Though many infusoria develop probably in certain con- ditions of the contents of the stomach, we rarely find entozoa occupying this cavity as their natural habitat. Ascarides and strongyli are occasionally carried up into it, but of the round worms or nematoda, the only specimens found there, and not usually elsewhere, except in the lower end of the oesophagus, are the different species of Spiroptera. Thus sp. mcgastoma is found in the hypertrophied coats at the cardiac end of the stomach of the horse; sp. strongyHna, in a similar situation in the pig, and sp. sanguinolenta in the dog. These parasites are peculiarly interesting to the medical zoologists, and the tumours they become imbedded in are worthy of the special notice of the pathological anatomist. Galleries or canals pierce the thickened coats in every direc- tion, and on cutting into these, the coiled but active little worms are displaced in large numbers. These are never recognised as existing in the stomach during the lifetime of animals, in which they may be accidentally discovered after death. Practically it is also of little importance to trace the Am- phistomum" conicum, which is the only sucking worm, lodged in the gastric cavities of ruminants, it being sometimes found in the rumen of the ox, goat, or sheep. Strongylus contortus is the only round worm of the true stomach of the sheep. The Horse Bot — Oestrus Equi. In 1815, Bracy Clark published his Essay on the Bots of Horses, and other Animals, and was for long referred to as the only authority on the subject. With his usual in- genuity, Clark explained the derivation of the term Bot. He says that "lexicographers appear to have been at a loss THE HOESE EOT — ffiSTEUS EQUI. 197 respecting the true origin of this word, on which we shall venture a suggestion that will appear, we believe, tolerably- satisfactory. The derivation of it, we apprehend, is from the French word Bout, signifying the extremity or end of a thing, iu the way we see it in the words About, Bottom, Bottle, Botville, &c. ; the last of these alluding to one living at the end or extremity of a town, by elision or for brevity the u being omitted. From the same origin also we have Butts, houses placed without or at the extremity or end of a town, the ia this case being for brevity omitted. Indeed the instances of its application are very numerous in our lan- gTiage. " The way or reason that these insects became so designated, is pretty manifest, from the habits more particularly of the second species of this enumeration, or HcEmorrhoidalis, which being fuHy fed, its growth completed, iu quitting its habitation in the stomach, and passing through the intestines, does usually hang for some days upon the margin of the fundament, beneath the taU, then falling to the earth and forming a chrysalis; and in this state would attract more particular notice and attention, occasioning often serious in- convenience and distress. So situated and observed, it was denoted the Bout Worm or End Worm, and by contraction Bot Worm; and afterwards, for want of better epithets, the appellation became extended to the fly produced by this worm, and we obtain Bot Fly, though it is obvious, as the fly never afiects these situations, its application is improper, and has served to disguise and conceal the real origin of the name." Clark describes the bots of the horse as follows : — " Oestetjs. AntenncB with three articulations, the last glo- bose with a bristle in front deeply sunk in the head. Mouth, a simple aperture without a trunk. Palpi 198 STOMACH BOTS. two, of two articulations, last rounded, situated in a depression on each side the mouth. Membrane of the wings lax and puckered. Stomach Bots. " 1. Equi. Oe. The Knee Bot, or great spotted Horse Bot. Wings opaque white, with a golden tinge, a transverse black wave and two spots near the extremity; a minute black raised dot near the base of the wing. Abdomen reddish brown, with black spots and points. Legs red. Female with lengthened abdomen, curving underneath; male obtuse. In meadows, laying its eggs or nits on the knees, mane, and sides of horses. JUgg white, oblong, pointed, the other extremity obtusely truncated, with a lid. Larva or Grub barrel-shaped, at one end tapering, obtuse at the other, covered with a thick skin, beset with a double row of prickles round each joint, alternately placed. In the stomach of the horse, to which it adheres by two short black hooks, one each side the mouth. The Pupa or Chrysalis oval, dark red, rough with prickly points, under dung. " 2. Hemorrhoidalis. Oe. The Lip or Fundament Bot. Wings without spot, brown. Face white, antennae in a black pit or depression. Body thinly covered with hair, greyish in the middle of the thorax and abdomen black shining, base of the latter white, and extremity red orange. Beneath grey, hairy. Legs pale red. In meadows, laying its eggs on the lips of the horse. Egg black, oblong with a petiolus or foot stalk. Larva white, with spines or prickles like the former, but less and rounder. STOMACH BOTS. ]99 In the stomacli of the horse. Puppa red brown with small prickles round the segments. " 3. Veterinus. Oe. The Bed, or Breast Bot. Wings clear, unspotted. Body oblong, tapering, covered with reddish yellow hairs; sides of the thorax and base of the abdomen with white tufted hairs. In meadows. Larva oblong, coral red, smooth joints, rounded, two last dark red. In horses' stomachs." My father has made some valuable observations on the bots of horses, and in a paper published in the first number of the EdirAwrgh Veterinary Beview, which appeared in July, 1858, he says : " Bracy Clark has graphically described how the female fly deposits her eggs, covered by a glutinous secretion, on those parts of the skin which a horse can reach with his tongue. When the eggs are hatched the skin be- comes irritable, and the horse bites and gnaws himself, the small active animal born adheres to the tongue, and fixes itself on the nearest and most convenient spot it can attain. Accordingly we find the larva or grub attached by its tough hooks to the cardiac end of the stomach, where the mucous membrane is covered by a thick cuticular structure. Some- times we find them close to the pylorus and in the duodenum, and I have noticed them in the rectum. I remember, when a boy, in Essex, seeing the flies attack the farm-horses at plough during the hot summer days; and it is found that the perfect fly is soon destroyed by changes of weather, by cold and moisture. Bracy Clark says he has often seen the fly during the night time, and in cold weather, fold itself up, with the head and tail nearly in contact, and lying appar- ently in a torpid state, though in the middle of summer. It is the high temperature necessary to the fly's existence which 200 STOMACH BOTS. may render bots far more abundant in warm climates, such as tlie Italian, than in England. " The larvae of the bots remain in the horse's stomach all winter, and in the ensuing summer, when the time for their exit arrives, they are from time to time seen firmly attached by their hooks to the horse's anus. Being of a dark colour, they are rarely observed on the faeces or ground, and even when I have had several young horses in my stable, I rarely could see bots unless adherent to the rectum and close to or upon the anus. The larva in this situation possesses little power of motion, and has a tough shell-like appearance, but exposure to atmospheric air seems very soon to excite it to move; it is, however, endowed with active locomotive power only for a short time, probably only for the day of its exit, so as to afford it means to attain a secure hiding-place in a bank or other favourable retreat. The adhering to the anus would seem to be a natural and habitual act, destined to allow time for the development of the faculty to creep. I have seen the grub on the floor of a stable moving towards the side so rapidly, and with such an outstretched appearance, that at first sight it could not be identified. " The bot is next found in the form of chrysalis, the skin becoming sheU-Kke, and retaining the shape and form of the grub as it issues from the horse's intestines, only acquiring a reddish-brown colour. The further metamorphosis in the state of chrysalis is completed by the eighteenth or nineteenth day. I allow one day of latitude, though I believe that there is a definite and constant period which, however, it is difficult to perceive, from the uncertainty of collecting all the larvae in the same condition. The fly escapes from the tough brown shell at the narrow end representing the head of the bot, and it invariably issues — ^fuUy formed, active and power- ful on wings and legs, and covered with down — at an early STOMACH BOTS. 201 iiour in the morning, varying witli the time the sun rises, from three to five A.M. My plan for observing these points was to enclose the-larvas, as I removed them from the anus, into thin glass jars covered with gauze. Bracy Clark said that ' after remaining torpid in the state of chrysalis, a few weeks, the superfluous moisture being removed, and the parts of the future insect being hardened by drying, it bursts from its imprisonment, and the fly appears,' &c. I have always seen the fly born on the eighteenth or nineteenth day. " The activity of the bots in my spontaneous vivaria was very great, and with a buzzing noise they moved about and then rested, and were especially vigorous and loud in their buzz as the day advanced. In a state of nature this is a provision to ensure the approximation of the sexes and fecun- dation of ova." Clark declared that the bots were rather salutary than pre- judicial in their effects on horses ; but the view is untenable : and my father has afforded evidence, that in warm countries, and when horses are kept during the summer inonths at grass, so as to receive a large supply of the bots' eggs in the stomach, the parasites are prejudicial, and prevent the horses being got into fuU condition for active work. My father's experience is of such value to the practical man, that I hesitate not to quote his remarks at some length. He says: — "It would be important to establish in what localities or coimtries bots do, or do not, exist. Horses exposed on pasture in the smnmer months wiU most probably be attacked by the fly. This is certain in some countries where I have bought many horses, viz., in Italy, also in the south of England; but it is by no means so certain, I think, in other parts. I have pur- chased many English horses, chiefly from Yorkshire or farther north, from breeders and farmers, &c., without discovering the bots, though I carefully sought for them, and I am led to 202 SIOMACH BOTS. believe they are far more rare north than in the south. In purchasing horses in the plains of Italy, it is a matter of cer- tainty that their stomachs are lined with these parasites. I have therefore been under the most favourable circumstances to examine their influence on the condition of the animals purchased by myself annually in considerable numbers. " I could not rely on the condition of one of the ItaUan horses taken up from grass at the end of summer in less than nine months or a year — such condition, I mean, as would fit them for any severe work The young English horses have nourished themselves and become more muscular in far less time, and it must be remembered that the Italian horses were really good substantial nags, with no defect in their constitution. I do not, however, forget also that the English colts are reared under very diiferent circumstances to the half-vrild ones in the Maremme of Tuscany and Campagna of Eome, and elsewh ere. The English farmer feeds with corn and hay, besides allowing his young stock plenty of good grass, whereas in Italy horses shift more for themselves, are not handled and fed, and have even an imperfect supply of grass on iU-cultivated pasture, and are exposed to the cold winds of winter or parching sun of July and August. There are, however, horses bred and managed in England in a manner as little calculated to promote their growth and condition or their owner's interests, as those of Southern Europe. " There are, therefore, some circumstances which militate against the accuracy of the conclusions I may arrive at, not- withstanding extensive observation; but still I can farnish very strong proof in favour of the view that the bots in the stomach are not natural healthy stimuli, but prove detrimen- tal to health. I gained valuable experience from one parti- cular source, viz., in purchasing young horses every year from the late Count Gherardesca of Florence, who bred ex- STOMACH BOTS. 203 tensively on his estates in the Tuscan Maremme south of the city of Volterra, the lands sloping to the Mediterranean Sea. In autumn the three-year-old colts were housed in a large stable, standing separated from each other by bales. They were roughly groomed, chiefly fed on coarse hay, and were ridden and exercised, being slowly broken in. In this way they passed the winter, and their condition did not at all improve apparently. Large quantities of hay constantly kept before them, were eaten by these colts. It was from these that in the summer I made a selection, and they were poor, with thin crest and drooping abdomen, so that in moimting them the saddle slipped on to their shoulders. They voided large quantities of faeces with the coarse undigested hay, but their skins had a healthy appearance. " After two days' walking journey to Florence, they were placed on good and weU-regulated keep; and they invariably thrived so rapidly, that within two months they were in beautiful condition as liding-horses. Having been in the stable the preceding winter, spring, and summer, before sale, they lost the bots just before I obtained them; and, though at the time the question of bots in no way influenced me, it was after-experience which carried my mind to the epoch above alluded to. Accordingly, I afterwards purchased young horses from the same stock, but which had not been taken up into the stable, and I had a larger choice, — they seemed in better condition, and more muscular than their companions confined in the stable. To my disappointment and loss, the result was totally difi'erent from that expected. Of the first three thus bought, one was own brother to one I had had before, and another was a sis-year-old horse well broken to ride, and had been constantly used by Count Gherardesca's factor, though he was taken up from the field to be ridden, and then let loose again. He was in fme health 204 STOMACH BOTS. when purchased, but neither of the three gained condition during the winter after I bought them. Their legs swelled, they could not stand work, were weak and rough, and I lost time and money, simply, I believe, because these horses could not thrive with the accumulation of bots in their stomach. So far, the circumstances of these accidental experiments were most favourable to enable me to draw natural conclu- sions, as the horses purchased at different periods were much of the same age, indeed, in this respect, one of the last pur- chase had the advantage; they were of the same breed; the quality of food in either case was in no way calculated to make great difference in their condition, but the first lot had been housed until the bots had left the system not to enter it again, and in the other horses the cestri existed for the first eight or nine months that I had them in my possession. "It was in the years 1850, 1851, and 1852 that I bought, at different intervals, many young horses from the pastures in the Roman States, and the part of Tuscany near Leghorn Some of these I kept long enough for observation, viz., from a few months to two years, and I procured bots in abun- dance, and observed the changes from larvae to fly, and the peculiar habits of the latter." No method of treatment is calculated to displace the bots, and a knowledge of their effects is valuable only to enable us to judge as to the prudence of exposing horses at grass certain seasons of the year and when bots are abun- dant. The safest rule to foUow, I think, is to avoid the in- troduction of the parasites into the stomachs of horses by means which are so well suggested from the facts above adduced. SOLVENT FUNCTION OP THE STOMAOH. 205 SoLTENT Function of the Stomach. In the single cavity of soHpedes and of camivora, as in the fourth stomach of numnants, the semi-solid food is mixed with an acid secretion, and subjected to the influence of heat and moisture, in order to effect its solution. If the contents of the stomach are very solid, and producing much distension of the organ, the movements necessary to the admixture are checked, and the consequences of such impaction we have already considered. But if the food is moderate in quantity and of proper consistence, the gradual contraction of the stomach from left to right as the food descends into it, and to a certain extent from right to left, as the pylorus obstructs the passage of undigested food into the intestine, produces a double current and uniform intermingling of the food and secretions. Beaumont tells us, from his observations on Alexis St. Martin, who had a permanent opening in his stomach from a gunshot wound, that " the bolus of food, as it enters the cardia, turns to the left, passes the aperture, descends into the splenic extremity, and follows the great curvature towards the pyloric end. It then returns in the course of the smaller curvature, makes its appearance again at the aperture in its descent into the great curvature, to perform similar revolutions. These revolutions are com- pleted in from one to three minutes." As the contents of the stomach are dissolved and diminish in quantity, the con- tractions at the left or cardiac end are scarcely perceptible, and it is from the point c (see Fig. 83) that they commence, and the food is moved towards the intestinal opening, or pylorus, through which the dissolved portion passes. Two or three minutes elapse before another peristaltic movement starts from c. Secretions. — It is the mucous membrane lining the stomach 206 SOLVENT FUNCTION OF THE STOMACH. Pic, S3. which jdelds the solvent fluid to be mixed, as above-men- tioned, vnth the alitnentary matters. In the horse the left half of the stomach is lined by a membrane which enjoys but very slight secreting power, and is protected by a thick, stratified, cuticular structure. In the right end the soft and actively secreting mucous coat is the same as we find in the stomachs of carnivora, or in the fourth gastric compartment of our domestic ruminants. In the empty stomach the mucous coat is thrown into ample folds, which are efiaced as the organ is distended. In the horse, as we have before shown, even during distension, there are folds arranged spirally at the opening of the gullet. On examining the structure of the mucous membrane, we find that it is reticulated, and may be compared to the mem- brane lining the reticulum, but in miniature. (See Fig. 84.) Into each compartment or space there are openings of glands or tubes, about -g^th of an inch in diameter. The eminences, including the polygonal interspaces, vary in shape in the SOLVENT FUNCTION OF THE STOMACH. 207 Fig. 84.— (Daxtoh.) Free surface of gastric mucous membrane, Yiewcd from aboye ; from pig's stomach, cardiac portion. Magnifies 70 diameters. Fig. 85. — (Dalton.) Free surface of gastric mucous membrane, viewed in vertical section 5 from pig's stomach, pyloric portion. Magnified 420 diameters. 208 SOLVENT FUNCTION OF THE STOMACH. Fig. 86. — (Daiton.) Mucous membrane of pig's stomach, from pyloric portion ; vertical section ; sliowing gastric tubules, and at a, a closed follicle. Magniiied 70 diameters. ti, ^,'^' *'-7(^^'-™''-) Gastric tubules from pig's stomach, pyloric portion, showing their Cffical extremities. At o, a cyUndi-ical cast ol epithelium, pressed out from -^ tuoule, showing the size of its size. THE GASTKIC JUICE. 209 right end of the stomacli, being conical in form and flattened from side to side, as seen at Fig. 85, and which are generally branched at their extremities. Two distinct varieties of gastric glands are found in the stomach of the lower animals. In the first variety the glands are lined throughout by columnar epithelium; they are placed at or near the pylorus, and their function seems to be the secretion of mucus; for the second variety cylindrical epithelium only occupies the upper part of the gland, the lower being filled with roundish oval secreting cells; they occupy the rest of the stomach, and they alone seem to secrete the gastric juice. (See Pigs. 86, 87.) There are also scattered over the membrane glands, called lenticular from the shape, which vary greatly in development in different subjects. The Gastric Juice. It is this secretion which is produced for the solution of food, and a certain turgescence or redness of the mucous membrane is characteristic of the state of hunger, and is increased as food enters the cavity. The sensation of hunger and turgescence of the membrane are relieved by the flow of gastric juice which is destined for digestion. The properties of this secretion were first studied by Dr Beaumont, of the U. S. Army, on Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian boatman, who received a gunshot wound into the stomach, which established a permanent fistula. Dr Beau- mont established that an acid fluid was secreted by the stomach whenever food entered the latter, and that it dissolved alimentary matters not only in the gastric cavity, but also in glass phials upon a sand bath, at a temperature of 100° Pahr. Since Dr Beaumont's observations, fistula of the stomach have been made artificially in animals, and the plan adopted is as follows: — P 210 THE tfASTEIC JUICE. The dog is the animal generally chosen for the perform- ance of this experiment; the very small risk of peritonitis following the operations on the abdomen, render this animal peculiarly well fitted for this purpose. The animal to be experimented on is fed shortly before the operation, as the latter is very much facilitated by the stomach being in. contact with the abdominal parietes. The dog having been placed on his back, an incision is made in the middle Hne, starting from the ensiform cartilage, and about two or three inches in. length, the peritoneum is care- fully divided ; and the stomach, which is seen distended with food, is seized with the fingers; it is incised to the extent of an inch, and the incision is fixed to the wound in the abdo- THE GASTEIC JUICE. 211 minal wall by means of silver or iron wire sutures. The latter is then partially closed by sutures, so as to be of the same si^e as the incision in the walls of the stomach. If the operator wishes to collect the gastric juice iflimediately, he can at once introduce a sUver tube ; it is better, however, to allow the coats of the stomach to become adherent to the abdominal walls, — this generally takes place in a very few days. A drawing of the silver tube best adapted for introducing into the fistula; is shown at Fig. 88. It can be lengthened or shortened by turning the screw D; if introduced immediately after the operation, the tube is partially unscrewed, so as to allow for the sweUiag which wiU probably supervene. When this has subsided, the screw is again tightened, and the edges, e, of the tube come in contact with the mucous Fig. 89. membrane of the stomach. The position of the tube in the stomach is shown by Fig. 89. 212 THE GASTBIC JUICE. If the carnila be removed, the fistulous aperture, which has become established, gradually closes, and the connections with the walls of the abdomen become absorbed. The sub- joiaed Fig. indicates the union of the coats of the stomach with the abdominal walls in forming the fistula. Fig. 90. If it be desired to experiment on the gastric juice of a ruminant, the fistula must be established between the fourth stomach and the abdominal wall. Numerous theories have been advanced in all times to endeavour to explain the action which the food undergoes in the stomach. Those which compared it to coction, fermenta- tion, and combustion, for a time excited great attention, but as they were mere hypotheses, often framed to support the tenets of particular schools, they fell to the ground and were forgotten. Keaumur made the first step towards ascertain- ing the truth, and led the way for future observers, when he pointed out that, in animals possessing a membranous ■stomach, the triturating action which had been so much THE GASTEIC JUICE. 213 insisted on by Borelli, and the Florentine academicians, and which he had himself well studied in the graminivorous birds, is replaced by the action of a digestive fluid. His ingenious experiments, soon followed by those of SpaUanzani, showed that the gastric juice is the solvent of food in the stomacL These observers obtained gastric jidce by causing birds to swallow portions of sponge attached to a string, and withdrawing them after a certain time; by ex- pressing them they obtained a small quantity of gastric juice. SpaUanzani's experiments proved the solvent action of the gastric juice completely. He caused animals to swaUow meat enclosed in metallic spheres, pierced with holes so as to allow the contact of the gastric juice; and, on with- drawing these spheres from the stomach, he found their con- tents partially or wholly digested. During the period of fasting, the stomach is emptj^'- and its mucous membrane is pale and covered with a grayish mucus; when food enters it, however, the capUlaries become congested, and a liquid exudes Hke sweat, from the open mouths of the gastric follicles — this' is the gastric juice. These phenomena, first described by Dr Beaumont, have been repeatedly observed since then in dogs with gastric fistulse. The gastric juice is a clear and transparent liquid, of decidedly acid reaction. Its specific gravity is about 1003-3. If gently heated it possesses the property of gradually dis- solving albuminoid substances, but if the heat be elevated to 160°, the action is entirely arrested; the reason of this we shall presently investigate. The gastric juice contains 99 per cent, of water, besides certain acids and salts, and a pecuUar and very remarkable organic substance called pepsiae; the chemical constitution of each of these substances we shall now shortly pass under review, examining the present doctrines as to then." action on the constituents of food. 214 THE GASTRIC JUICE. Many different opinions have been entertained as to the acids of the gastric juice. Vauqnelin maintained the exis- tence of phosphoric acid, Tiedemann and Gmelin of hydro- chloric acid; Chevreul, Leuret, and Lassaigne, and more recently, Bernard and Barreswil, of free lactic acid, while Blondlot has strenuously maintained that the acidity of the gastric juice is due to acid phosphate of lime. The experiments of Mr Bernard have undoubtedly gone far to prove the existence of free lactic acid in the stomach, and to disprove the presence of free hydrochloric acid; still the matter must be looked upon as far from settled. The remarkable animal substance called pepsine, which we have mentioned as one of the constituents of gastric juice, is found besides in the mucus and coats of the stomach. It is conveniently prepared by macerating the coats of the stomach, first in water gently heated (between 80° and ] 00°), and then in cold water. On alcohol being added to the latter, a floculent precipitate of pepsine falls, which is soluble in cold water, and possesses most remarkable diges- tive properties. It is not prone to decompose, and 1 part in 60,000 parts of water will dissolve albuminoid sub- stances, the action being increased on the addition of a few drops of dilute hydrochloric add. This substance reddens litmus, and in its ultimate composition approaches the protein compounds, from which it differs in con- taining more nitrogen.* The salts of the gastric juice are chiefly chloride of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Phosphate of lime is present in small quantities, and aUcaUne sulphates are absent. There are other saline ingredients which are only occasionally found. If we now take into consideration which of the constitu- * See Brinton On Food and its Digestion, page 121. THE GASTEIC JUICE. 215 ents of the gastric jiiice probably acts on food, we shall arrive at the conclusion, that the digestive property is not dependent on the free acids alone, or on the animal principle pepsiae alone, but is resident ia both. Thus, if a certain quantity of gastric juice, in which some meat is being arti- ficially digested, be neutralized with alkalies, the process is immediately arrested. On the other hand, gastric juice which has been boUed loses this property by the coagulation of pepsine. Gastric juice does not act on all the principles of food. .Although helping, as we shall afterwards see, in the digestion of solid fats and starchy matter, it does not itself exert any important action on them; it is essentially the solvent of the albuminoid or nitrogenous constituents of food. When muscular tissue is subjected to the action of the gastric juice, it swells up, becomes soft, and the transverse striae or markings on the muscular fibres disappear. Liquid albumen is first precipitated in a floculent state by the gastric juice, the precipitate undergoing a process of solution afterwards. Casein also, when taken into the stomach, is immediately coagulated, the little solid masses thus formed in it gradually dissolving in the gastric juice, forming a homogenous and slightly opaque liquid. Gluten, when macerated in gastric juice, out of the body, has been observed to break up into molecular matter, which falls to the bottom of the vessel containing it. This change is pro- bably only the first of a series which takes place in the body. Gelatine is easily dissolved in the stomach, and its solu- tion does not solidify on cooling. Bones are also dissolved by the gastric juice. Whatever the substances dissolved, they are reduced to a state of minute division, and form a substance possessing certain peculiar properties, and to which the name of 216 THE 6ASTEI0 JUICE. peptone has been given. Reduced to the solid form by care- ful evaporation, peptone is a white or yellowish-white sub- stance; almost tasteless and inodorous; very soluble in water; but insoluble in alcohol of eighty-three per cent. Its watery solution reddens litmus, and is precipitated by chlorine, tannic acid, and metallic salts; but it is unaffected by boiling, by acids, or by alkalies. With alkalies and bases it forms very soluble neutral compounds or salts. An aqueous solution of these is stUl less precipitable by reagents than one of peptone itself. Thus it is only thrown down by tannic acid, bichloride of mercury, and a mixture of the acetates of ammonia and lead : the acetate of lead, and the ferrocyanide of potassium, causing but a faint cloudiaess ; and even concentrated acids, nitrate of silver and alum, having no effect.* The gastric jidce dissolves, as we have seen, only the albu- minoid constituents of food; it is therefore evident that a much greater proportion of these constituents is digested in the stomach of carnivorous than herbivorous aniihals. Hay contains only about 7 per cent, of albuminoid constituents, and it is these alone which are acted upon by„ the gastric juice in the stomach. The gastric juice helps, to a certain extent, the solution of solid animal fats, by dissolving the nitrogenous walls of the cells which contain the fat, and also the digestion of starch by dissolving the walls of the veget- able cells containing it. The gastric juice has, however, no action on the fatty and starchy constituents proper of the food. ! It remains for us to examine the action which the gastric juice has on certain remedies taken into the stomach, and to consider the reasons why this fluid, which out of the body i * On Food and its Digestion. By Dr Brinton. Page 125. ' THE GASTRIC JUICE. 217 has the property of dissolving albuminoid substances, does not during Ufe destroy the coats of the organ which secretes it. It appears that certain insoluble metalUc salts are acted upon by the acids of the gastric juice, and reduced to a state of solution. By some it has been supposed that calomel, which is an iasoluble chloride of mercury, is dissolved by the chlorides of the gastric juice. Iron, when taken iato the stomach, is reduced to the state of oxide at the expense of the water contained in that organ. It is evident that this solvent a,ction is dependent on the gastric juice, as it is most active duriag the period of digestion. Cyanide of mercury is a salt very easily decomposed by the gastric juice, and its poisonous properties seem to depend on the hydro- cyanic acid thus set free; and Bernard has observed that symptoms of poisoning ensue most rapidly if it be taken during digestion. We have seen that, if an alkali be added to gastric juice out of the body, the property of digesting nitro- genous substances is destroyed. The same, however, does not happen in the body; for it is found that the alkali seems to act as a stimulus to the secretion of gastric juice. John Hunter observed that, after death, the coats of the stomach often undergo a process of solution by the gastric juice; and for a long time physiologists were at a loss to ex- plain the immunity which the stomach enjoys during life. It has now been shown that the stomach owes this pro- perty to the continually renewed epithelium of its mucus coat; and that it is not dependent simply on the vitality of the tissues, has been shown by some experiments of Claude Ber- nard, who, having introduced the hind-legs of a frog through a gastric fistula into the stomach of a dog, observed that they were digested whilst the frog was stiU living. Thus it is that, as science advances, many phenomena formerly consi- dered to be vital (ie., phenomena occurring in living beings. 218 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. wHch cannot be explained in the present state of our know- ledge), are shown to be quite explicable by the ordinary laws which govern the animal economy. Functional and STEtrcTiTEAii Diseases op the Stomach. Abnoemai Deviations in Size. The accidental impaction of the gastric cavity which has been fully treated by us as occurring in all animals, may be re- garded as predisposing to, and not produced by, diseases of the stomach. The latter organ adapts itself very remarkably to the function it is called upon to perform under a variety of circumstances, and the best illustration of this may be obtained by comparing the enormous stomach of the horse fed on boiled turnips and- an excess of food generally, with the contracted viscus of the animal starved to death. I have not here to refer to deviations ia size, which are consistent with the healthy state, and I may say that in the domestic animals there is Httle tendency either to wasting or increase in development of the coats of the stomach. If the whole body wastes, the stomach suffers also ; but although Bidder and Schmidt have stated that the decrease in bulk and weight of the mucous membranes of the alimentary canal amounts ia animals starved to death to about 31 per cent, it is, on the other hand, remarked by Dr Brinton, that there are appearances of a peculiar resistance to even this inclusive atrophy on the part of the stomach, as contrasted vsdth the intestines. Dilatation of the stomach due to bad management in horses, viz., which depends on bulky food given in gTeat abundance, and aU. times, without regular intervals, is a con- dition which should be prevented. Fortunately we have few instances on record ia which ulcers, cancer, or injury, are the causes of dilatation, and aU our cases can be diagnosed DYSPEPSIA. 219 by learning how animaLs are fed. When, from repeated dis- tension, a chronic state of dilatation is established, there is a tendency to the impactions already referred to, which paralyse the stomach. Any hoUow organ may be rendered incapable of contracting on its contents by over-repletion. Dr Briaton says : — " Just as the sudden application of a heavy weight to the end of a voluntary muscle not only elongates its fibres, but utterly exhausts them of all contractile power; or, just as the enormous distension of an occluded intestine soon ex- hausts and annihilates the writhing contractions by which its muscular coat at first strives to propel its contents past the obstacle, so it seems probable that a rapid dilatation of the stomach may destroy the operancy of its muscular fibres, not only putting them ' hors de combat ' by stretching, but suspending those nutritive changes which are necessary to their contractility, and are expressed by their contraction. How far each of these effects is ' physical ' or ' vital,' it is of little use to inquire, for the antithesis is too clumsy to frame a dilemma, and too inaccurate even to probe the facts which it would obviously be unable to refute." Treatment, therefore, consists in a well-regulated diet, which, so far as the domestic animals are concerned, will always prevent abnormal deviations in the size of the stomach. Dyspepsia. This term has not found its way into veterinary works. It is one I have employed to indicate an impaired digestion from arrest or diminution in secretion, or, in other words, "a difficult character of digestion unexplained by structural lesion." The stomach may not be the only organ affected, and it is probable that there are instances in which liver, pancreas, or intestinal glands are primarily at fault, but "why the symptoms of dyspepsia refer chiefly to the stomach it is 220 DYSPEPSIA. not difficult to understand. Tlie physiology of digestion affords us plausible grounds for presuming, that the details which distinguish this organ from the remainder of the ali- mentary canal — especially its shape, its si^e, its situation, its office, and the peculiarities of innervation associated with them — ^give it a kind of paramount importance; and render it, ia the main, far more sensible to various disturbing agencies, and far more disposed to betray disturbance by abnormal phenomena (such as pain, vomiting, or flatulence) than any other segment of the digestive tube. So that even were purely intestinal dyspepsia much more frequent and important than it seems to be, the study of gastric dyspepsia would stUl be the best means of approaching its consideration. Apart from the frequent secondary involvement of the stomach in the intestinal variety, the symptomatology of dyspepsia of both kinds would be best studied from its most distinct and accessible side. In this respect, indeed, the functional de- rangements of the stomach and intestine do but parallel their structural diseases : in which we often find that lesions, otherwise precisely identical, are betrayed by much more distinct symptoms when located in the stomach than in the bowels; and that, in the latter situation, they are some- times mistakenly referred to the stomach, owing to those secondary derangements of this organ which they are liable to excite." The causes of dyspepsia in the lower animals are far less varied than the causes of a similar condition in the human subject. They may be classed under two heads : Firstly, Giving much food at rare intervals, or starving an animal for some time, and then allowing coarse aliment in considerable quantities; Secondly, Indigestible foods. I can specify numerous instances of great practical interest. Horses fall out of condition from hurriedly cramming their stomachs. DYSPEPSIA. 221 and imperfectly masticating their oats. Over-work induces dyspepsia. Foals and calves die from beiag fed on copious draughts of cold nulk, morning and night. Cattle are seized with a morbid appetite and dyspeptic symptoms on poor lands. Symptoms. — In the horse a staring coat, dukiess at work, emaciation, with a tucked-up appearance of the beUy, are amongst the most apparent signs of dyspepsia. The frequent discharge of fetid flatus, the presence of undigested food in the faeces, and, especially, of uncrushed oats, &c., and the occasional appearance of griping pains, aU indicate that the digestive organs are at fault. In cows we observe a diminished appetite, and a desire to pick up and swallow dirt, sand, lime, &c. The fseces are hard, scanty, and coated with mucus. The animal falls out of condition, and the secretion of milk is very poor and scanty. Per the symptoms in suck- ing animals, see the description of diarrhoea. It is not un- common to observe looseness of the bowels from imperfect action of the stomach. In ruminants and in carnivorous animals, frequent eructations, and even retching, are symptoms of the dyspeptic state. Treatment — Regulate the diet according to the animal In severe cases give a purgative, and foUow up by injections. Allow the most easUy digested food in small quantities, rather frequently. When the appetite has failed in the horse, I have foimd that equal parts of bruised coriander seeds and common salt, given to the extent of about an ounce at each meal, is beneficial. The common salt may, in troublesome cases, be superseded by carbonate of soda, which stimulates the gastric secretion in a very remarkable manner. Do not try too many medicines, and avoid large doses, as the irritable and disordered stomach is apt to suffer considerably from injudicious drugging. Moderate exercise and fresh 222 6ASTEITIS. air facilitate treatment considerably ; and grass feeding animals, in the spring or summer time, are often restored by grazing. Gasteitis, oe Inflammation of the Stomach. In any animal may this disease be observed, as the result of irritant poisons being swallowed, but in carnivora it occa- sionally presents itself as a primary disease without any such active exciting cause. Many diseases have been confounded with this one, especi- ally in our herbivorous quadrupeds, but in the latter it is extremely rare, and almost always connected with inflamma- tion of the bowels. Mr Percival says, that though the malady comes rarely under the veterinarian's notice, it is not an un- common disease, " for every practitioner who has been in the habit of inspecting the stomachs of horses after death, well knows that nothing is more common than to find the vascular gastric membrane reddened." It is, however, only by post- mortem examination that we can verify that an animal has been killed by an attack of gastritis; and as some confusion has arisen in naming diseases from an imperfect knowledge of cadaveric signs, I may mention, that frequently a some- what brilliant red colour of the mucous membrane of the stomach is to be attributed to turgescence of the gastric glands, and there may be patches of a greyish hue, with appearance of tumefaction, and all this consistent with the most perfectly healthy state. It is only when there is free exudation between the coats, when there is marked ramified redness, with evident stagnation of blood, ecchymosis and erosions, that inflammation can be said to exist. Sometimes the mucous membrane is coated with false membranes. Sloughs or large gangrenous patches and perforations of various sizes are witnessed in cases of irritant poisoning. GASTRITIS. 223 The poison whicli lias caused tlie inflammation is usually found in the stomach, or adhering to its coats. The history of the case is often necessary for practical purposes, but the symptoms are characteristic in cases of poisoning. They consist in nausea, followed by vomiting in the smaller animals, and speedily attended by violent colic in aU. The horse looks round to left flank, crouches, and can- not stand quiet or erect. Pulse becomes quick, and though strong at first, is soon feeble, irregular, or indistinct at the jaw. Thirst is sometimes intolerable; purging ensues, with violent straining, and the animal becomes very languid. The legs and ears are cold; partial sweats may break out over the body; the urine becomes high coloured and scanty. Symptoms of stupor or unconsciousness appear; the pupils are dilated, and the animal sinks paralytic, or with convul- sive fits, the sufiering from abdominal pains being, throughout the whole course of the case, most intense. In the Veterinarian's Vade-Mecmn, I have entered at considerable length into the history of all irritant poisons, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, and with regard to the foregoing description of the symptoms, I may quote from Dr Brinton's admirable work on the Diseases of the Stomach in Man. The doctor says : " Of course, in the symptoms, as well as the lesions, produced by these agents, there is much that is too characteristic or specific of each poison to be included in any such brief outline. The concentration of the particular agent, its solubility, its afiinity for water, its chemical action, its solvent effect on the tissues, its constitutional action after being absorbed into the blood, its attraction or determination to a particular part of the canal — can greatly modify the symptoms just summed up. Hence, quite apart from the results of an analysis, they generally justify a conjecture as to the poison by which they have been produced. The state 224 GASTEITIS. of the mouth and oesophagus, the date of access of the pain, its intensity, the nature of the substances vomited, the amount and character of the purging, may thus assist our diagnosis. It is equally obvious, that even the more general or consti- tutional symptoms require a careful study; and can only be regarded as typical under certain limitations. Thus, the prostration which ends life is often produced by a concurrence of at least three causes : (1) the constitutional action of the poison; (2) the depth or extent of the lesion it has produced; and (3) the destruction of an organ essential to life — three causes, of which idiopathic gastritis, even if acute, would rarely afford more than the last and most chronic." The causes of gastritis must be referred to more particu- larly before we can hope to establish any rules for treatment. Animal Irritants. — A mixture of naphtha and fish oil has been known to produce acute gastritis in cattle, with symp- toms of great pain, foaming at the mouth, &c. Cantharides given incautiously in large doses, and made into a ball, have caused inflammation of the stomach in the horse. Souse, used sometimes as a quack medicine for horses, or given to pigs, may prove poisonous, and Mils by induciag inflamma- tion of the stomach and nervous symptoms. Its action ap- pears due to an animal principle, from the meat or fish steeped iu briae, as well as to the irritant effects of common salt. Mouldy bread, oils of tar and turpentine, savin in large doses, many of the ranunculacese and of the spurgeworts, creasote and aloes, ia over-doses, are amongst the vegetable irritants which have been most frequently productive of gastritis. Of the metallic irritants, arsenic, bi-chloride of mercury, calomel, salts of copper, and iron have most frequently induced gastric disease. In the dog, however, violent and persistent irritation of the stomach is caused most frequently GA.STEITIS. 225 by abuse in the administration of emetics — especially of the potassio-tartrate of antimony. Sulphuric acid, nitric acid, oxalic acid, the caustic alkalies, ammonia and its carbonates, nitre, sulplates of soda and mag- nesia, common salt, phosphorus and preparations of iodine are amongst the non-metallic irritants most likely to occasion gastric inilammation in the, domestic animals. Treatment. — The causes of gastritis indicate that little benefit can be derived from the usual remedies employed in inflammatory disease, and blood-letting is always dangerous. The poison must be thrown out of the system, or its effects neutralized. Antidotes must be employed for each special case. Even simple water may be dangerous, either in increas- ing the potency of the irritant, as in cases of sulphuric acid poisoning, or hastening absorption, as in gastritis from various salts. Lime, white of egg, demulcents — such as linseed tea, &c. — are of great service in many instances. Counter-irri- tation, purgatives given with caution, injections, emetics in carnivora, are all means which are useful and require judg- ment in their use. Often, the relief of pain by opium, or the support afforded by a mild stimulant, may preserve life. Gastritis in the dog has been specially noticed by all writers on the diseases of this am'mal, and special mention is made of the animal's disposition to lie on its belly against the cold floor; of an anxious expression, great thirst, violent fever, cold extremities, &c. I have repeatedly seen these symptoms relieved by warm baths, clysters, and minute doses of dilute prussic acid; but a far more characteristic disease is Gasteoeehcea, oe Cataeeh of the Stomach in the Dog. This malady usually arises from a severe attack of indi- gestion, and especially when a dog is exposed to cold and wet, though usually pampered and carefully housed. 226 INTESTINAL DIGESTION. Symptoms. — A hot nose, blood-shot eyes, and loss of appe- tite, are associated with efforts to vomit, which are usually ineffectual. Abdominal pain is sometimes severe, and there is obstinate constipation. In the course of twenty-four hours, the retching, which continues, is attended with the discharge of an abundant and dense mucus, often tinged with bUe. The pulse becomes small, feeble, and very frequent; the bowels may have responded to the action of a dose of physic, but without relieving the gastric irritation, and straining accom- panies the discharge of faeces. Blood is discharged both by the mouth and anus, and, unless soon relieved, the animal dies. Warm baths, a mustard poultice over the abdomen, and the administration of dilute hydrocyanic acid, in doses of from two to three drops, given in water or a little wine, relieve the animal In that stage of the disease, when con- siderable prostration is observed, I have seen great good from the occasional administration of wine and spirits of nitric ether. Intestinal Pigestion. When the food has undergone such changes as occur within the true stomach, it is gradually forced through the pylorus, and subjected to further processes within the intestine. Intestine. — The term is applied to that portion of the alimentary canal extending between the pylorus and anus, destined for the temporary retention of the chymous mass, so that its nutrient parts may be absorbed, whilst its more soM indigestible constituents are collected for ex- cretion. The intestine occupies by far the greatest part of the abdominal cavity, but varies in size and length in different domestic animals. It is always short ia carnivorous animals, INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 227 being four times the length of the body in the cat, whereas it attains extraordinary dimensions in herbivorous quadru- peds, measuring 27 times the length of the body in the sheep and goat, 20 times in the ox, 12 in the horse, 11 in the ass and mule, 15 in the dromedary, and again only 6 in the dog as a flesh-feeding animal. Not only the attachments, but also the shape of the intes- tine, vary at different parts of its course, so that it has been deemed necessary to divide it, either arbitrarily or at natural demarcations. Thus we speak of the small and large intes- tine, the two being separated naturally by a marked change in direction, size, and conformation. Small Intestine. — This, the smallest although longest, is also the first portion of the intestinal tube, extending from the pylorus to its sudden termination into thei large intes- tine. In it the food is subjected to the modifying influence of important secretions, whereby its nutritive parts are fitted for absorption by the vessels which for this purpose are arranged in this portion of the intestinal track. The small intestine has been divided into three parts : this classification is, however, purely conventional. Since it does not recognise anatomical differences for its basis, it might justly be presumed that this distinction of human anatomists exhibited traces of imperfection, even when applied to the frame of man. Such being the case, it is no matter of sur- prise that, in referring the distinction to the intestinal canal of animals, the incongruities of the system should be still more apparent. Extending from the pylorus, the first portion is termed the duodenum, from its being considered as twelve fingers' breadth in length : it is, however, extended round to the left side of the spine, posteriorly to the anterior mesenteric artery. The middle or floating portion of gut takes the name of 228 INTESTINAL DIGESTION. jejunum, and the third or csecal portion is distinctively designated ileum. The Ileum is, on the whole, the narrowest portion of the small intestine, but the thickest in its coats. Having now specially to describe the structure of the small intestine, it may be taken as a whole, merely alluding to local peculiarities. This portion of the alimentary canal has four coats, i.e., peritoneal, muscular, cellular, and internal mucous. The first, or peritoneal, has nothing of peculiar, beyond its enclosing a little triangular space all along the upper attached border of the gut. The looseness of the peritoneal folds attaching the small intestine is very marked: and Colin notes, that the mesentery is proportionately larger in young than in adult quadrupeds, so that the gradual shortening of this explains the spontaneous reduction of exomphalus or umbilical hernia in colts. The second, or muscular, coat is mostly developed at the commencement of the duodenum and terminating portion of the ileum. It consists of white involuntary fibres, arranged so as to form an outer longitudinal layer and an inner cir- cular one, both of which completely encircle the intestine. The third, or cellular, coat is similar to that of the stomach, in being disposed in two layers, so as to connect the three coats together. It is especially condensed on the inner sur- face of the muscular coat, so as to take the appearance of a fibrous tunic attached to the mucous lining by loose cellular tissue. The fourth, or mucous, coat is thin, having a velvety appearance, due to villi, peculiarly small in tjie intestines of the horse, but remarkably developed in other animals, especi- ally camivora and fishes. The villi may be seen by a pocket lens, on a well-washed piece of intestinal mucous membrane. INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 229 and between them are seen numerous foramina, wliich are the openings of tubular glands, known as the crypts of Lieberkuehn. In addition to the tubular glands, by dissecting, from without, the muscular from the mucous coat, lining the com- mencement of the duodenum,- we find clusters of vesicles similar to the vesicular structure of the salivary and pan- creatic glands. These form distinct layers provided with ducts which open on the free surface of the membrane ; and Dr Todd states that Brunner's glands, or, as he calls them, the duodenal, are more developed in the horse than in any other animal he has hitherto examined them in. Kg. 41,— Portions of dog's intestine, showing the glands of Brunner, enlarged tlvii times. — ^BERNAItD. , ,_ 1 , J , , i i, mucous lining of the intestine; ggg, glands of Brunner; 6 0, glandular layer be- neath the muscular coat ; m m, muscular coat; v p, peritoneal coat; c, cellular tissue, which separates the glandular from the muscular layers. We have next to treat of the solitary glands— -glandulse solitarlEB— peculiar and rather scanty bodies, visible at various parts of the small intestine. These are vesicular, and without any opening when in the perfect state, surrounded by villous processes and Lieberkuehnian follicles. Some of the villi also project from the surface of the so-called glands, which are most apparent when distended with secretion. About the second half of the jejunum, and along the whole of the ileum, we see longitudinal patches, varying from half an inch to even three inches in length, scattered all over, but more especially situated near the superior or attached 230 INTESTINAL DIGESTION. border of the small intestine, which is contrary to the faulty description of some recent authors. These patches, distin- guished as Peyer's glands or patches, also as Agminated glands — Glandulse agminatae seu aggregatse — consist of an accumulation of small bodies, each resembling a glandula soUtaria in miniature, being also destitute of a natural aper- ture. Colin (loc. cit.) states that they are first seen at a distance of about six feet and a half from the pylorus, and the least number of them he has ever counted has been 102, whilst the utmost has been 158. The mucous membrane of the small intestine is thrown into folds at different parts, which are transverse, and scal- loped near the pylorus, whilst in other parts they are mostly longitudiaal ; these are all temporary folds. There is no . such arrangement as the valvulae conniventes in the smaU intestines of the horse, though recent writers have described them. About five inches from the pylorus, at the superior border of the duodenum, is a semicircular fold, which, if elevated, admits of the finger being thrust behind it into the wide biliary duct. The opening of the pancreatic duct is also visible beneath this fold, but it is not so capacious as the one last mentioned. Large Intestine. — The large intestiae constitutes the ter- minating portion of the alimentary canal, being remarkably more developed in soHpedes than ia any other of our domes- tic quadrupeds. It occupies the greater part of the abdomen, and most of it is loose, whilst its shape and other peculiari- ties vary considerably at different points. It is divided into three parts — coecum, colon, and rectum — the precise extent of each being defined by special anatomi- cal characters. (See Fig. 92.) The structure of the large intestine does not vary es- sentially from that of the small, as it possesses the four INTESTINAL. DIGESTION. 23t 232 INTBSTINAIj DIGEbTION. coats — i. e., peritoneal, muscular, cellular, and internal mucous. The peritoneal tunic forms an entire covering to the large intestine, with the exception of the superior surface of the transverse colon — which is in contact with the pancreas — and the terminating portion of the rectum. The bands by which it unites the intestine to other parts have been already described. In addition to the peritoneum forming an entire covering, at the attached margin of the flexures of the colon, it constitutes folds loaded with fat, varying in width indifferent parts, and clustered so as to have deserved the name of ap- pendices epiploicEe. The muscular coat of the large intestine is differently de- veloped in various parts. Its fibres are of the plain variety, and arranged in two orders. The outer longitudinal set is scanty in some parts, but in others forms the longitudinal bands above alluded to. These are shorter than the actual length of the gut itself, so as effectually to pucker it. The number of longitudinal bai;ds varies from one to four in the various parts of the gut, and the shape and breadth of the lat- ter is not everywhere the same. The longitudinal fibres are abundant in the rectum, but they only form bands in the an- terior two-thirds, as posteriorly to this they uniformly surround the intestine. The inner layer of fibres encircles the whole of the latter, being thickest towards the apex of the caecum, as weU as in the single colon and rectum : at the end of the latter the internal sphincter ani is formed by an accumula- tion of the circular fibres. The circular fibres of the colon are engaged in forming the ileo-colic valve, hereafter to be described. The cellular coat of the large intestine resembles that of the small, only it is not so abundant, except at the terminating portion of the rectum, where it is much more developed. INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 233 The mucous lining of the large intestine is continuous anteriorly with that of the ileum, posteriorly with the common integument. It is thin, more or less coated with mucus, scantier in glands than in the small intestine, but the ori- fices of the Lieberkuehnian crypts are more apparent, owing to the surface here being destitute of viUi. Saccular recesses, more or less capacious, exist in the membrane lining the large intestine. The difierence in degree of vascularity gives rise to difference in the colour of the mucous coat in various por- tions of the gut: thus, that lining the caecum is generally more deeply coloured than that of the colon, whilst the rectal mucous membrane is more vascular, and hence redder than the colic or coecal one. At the termination of the Ueum is the ileo-colic or Ueo-coecal valve, which is constituted of two folds of mucous membrane, almost parallel to each other, and horizontal, leav- ing between them an elliptical orifice when partially drawn asunder. The folds consist of the circular fibres of the intes- tine, lined on the inner or ileac side by the villous membrane of the small, whilst on the csecal and colic side they are covered by the mucous membrane proper .to the large intes- tine. It is worthy of notice, that though muscular fibres partly enter into the construction of the valve, its effi- ciency is explicable on purely mechanical grounds, as proved by the fact, that it is competent in the dead body. The anus is the outlet of the intestine, which is perfectly closed, except during the evacuation of feculent matters, and is made perceptible externally by the elevation of the tail, being situated in a space bounded superiorly by the sacrum and coccyx, laterally by the ischial tuberosities, and inferiorly by the urethra in the male and vulva in the female. It is lined within by the mucous membrane of the rectum, which is loose and of a marked red colour. Its external 234 INTESTINAL DIGESTION. covering is of common integument, destitute of hairs. Lying between the skin and mucous membrane are two circular muscles, whose office it is to keep the anus closed and prevent constant evacuation of faeces, whilst there are other muscular appendages situated externally to these, destined either to elevate or retract the anus; being evidently antagonistic to the sphincters. The internal sphincter ani is in contact with the attached surface of the intestinal mucous membrane, and separated from the integument by the external one. It is constituted of the pale circular fibres of the gut, but towards its free edge certain coloured fibres are apparent on it. The external sphincter is situated outside the internal one, and within the anal integument : it is circular, and composed of red fibres, attached superiorly under the first coccygeal bone, and inferiorly its fibres blend in the male subject in the accelerator urinae and triangularis penis, and in the female with the constrictor vaginte. The levatores ani are two pale muscles, attached on each side of the first bones of the tail, and spreading downwards and forwards on t» the rectum, form an attachment for the internal sphincter, and blending with the longitudinal fibres, so as to increase the thickness of the muscular coat of the rectum. The action of these muscles must be that of elevating the anus and shortening the rectum from- before backwards. ' The retractors proper to the anus are one on each side attached to the inner surface of the articular extremity of the ischium. Extending from before backwards, and rather up- wards, they blend with the external sphincter. Their action is obviously that of retracting the anal opening. In ruminants the intestine is not so capacious as in the horse, and a singular arrangement is noticed in them, as seen in the subjoined Fig. 93. INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 235 The small intestine, B B B, is attached to the free margin of a peritoneal fold, and within the latter — the large intestine or colon coils being only free at its blind head or coeciun, E, and at the end, H, or rectum. Pig. 1)3. In the dog there is but slight difference in the size of the large and small intestine, and they are distingiiished where they merge into each other by a very small coecum. The foregoing technical descriptions of the intestinal canal have appeared to me necessary, in order that many of the observations may be understood in treating of the functions and diseases of this region. The mucous membrane with its numerous glands, jdelds an abundant secretion, which has been studied in the horse, with great care, by M. Colin. 236 OMENTUM. Omentujl The layers of membrane which attach the stomach intes- tine, liver, and spleen together, constitute, what is called by anatomists, the omentum. This is a very abundant expansion of serous membrane, loaded with fat, in cattle and sheep fed for the butcher, and known to the latter by the name of caul. It is the portion covering the intestine, and which is Fig. 84. OMENTUM. 237 very delicate, with a reticulated aspect, in part due to streaks of fat that the latter name is applied to. In the annexed Fig. 94, two distinct folds are seen. The lesser, a, or gastro- hepatic omentum attaching the stomach to the liver, and the larger, h, c, or gastro-colic omentum, divided into the part attaching the stomach to the spleen or gastro-splenic omen- tum; b, and the part proceeding from the stomach to the colon; c, or gastro-colic omentum. The large and small omentum form with the stomach, duodenum, liver, and colon, a pouch or omental sac, which can only be penetrated close to the liver behind the small intestine, where there is an aperture called the foramen of Winslow. The omentum, forming a sac into which the contents of the stomach drop when the latter organ is ruptured, has been rather strangely believed to be destined to retain the food, and prevent its entering the general peritoneal cavity in cases of ruptured stomach. This is evidently absurd, and Professor Dick has suggested, with more show of reason, that the abundant omentum of our domestic quadrupeds is "entirely for the purpose of facilitating the motion of the digestive organs, and that the difference which is found in regard to its si^e is owing to the peculiarities of the digestive apparatus in the different species of animals, where such variety of it is found." It no doubt extends the serous sur- face, and increases the amount of secretion. To the practical man a knowledge of the disposition of the omentum, the construction of the omental sac, and the posi- tion of the foramen of Winslow, are of importance in connec- tion with the history of hemise, &c., which are observed in the domestic animals. 238 THE LIVEB. The Livepw The liver, the largest gland in the body, is shown at Fig. 94, and its form in the ox is seen below (Fig. 95.) » J?ig. 95. It is divided into several lobes, and receives through a large vein (the vena porta) the whole of the blood returning from the intestine towards the heart. One important function is connected with the changes in the blood, enriched by the recent products of digestion, but the purpose it serves in connection with the changes of food in the alimentary canal is due to the gall or bile which it secretes. The Bile. Although this secretion is undoubtedly one ofthe most im- portant in the body, and the means of obtaining it in a state of purity are greater than is the case with most of the other secretions, its chemical composition has only lately been THE BILE. 239 satisfactorily investigated, and its physiology is still almost ignored. The bile is obtained in a state of purity from the gall-bladder of an animal recently killed, or by means of a biliary fistula from the living animals. The dog is usually selected for this operation, for the reasons we mentioned when speaking of gastric fistulse, viz., the smaU risk of peri- toneal inflammation. An incision three or four inches long, is made in the Hnea alba, commencing at the xyphoid car- tilage, and the peritoneum having been carefully divided, the liver is raised, when the gall-bladder comes into view. This, seized with a pair of forceps, and drawn to the surface, the cystic and hepatic ducts are seen joining to form the common bUe duct (ductus communis choledocus) which is easily seen entering the duodenum. Two ligatures are then passed around this duct, one being placed as near the gut as possible, the other near the origin of the duct. The portion between the two Hgatures is cut out. The gaU-bladder is now fixed to the anterior part of the wound by means of metallic sutures, and then opened sufB- ciently to admit the little finger. The rest of the wound is closed by metaUic sutures — the quilled suture is perhaps the best. Care must be taken to bring the wound in the muscles together before sewing up that of the skin. After the opera- tion a wide roller is passed around the belly of the dog, a hole being made in it to allow the escape of the bile. If matters proceed satisfactorily, the wound in the abdominal wall heals, except where the opening in the gaU-bladder be- comes adherent. Through this all the bile secreted by the liver leaves the body, and may be collected by a suitable ap- paratus. The bile is a slightly viscid liquid, generally of a greenish colour, possessing an intensely bitter taste, and a somewhat fragrant odour. Its specific gravity is, according to Lehman, about 1-02. Its reaction is either neutral or very 240 THE BILE. feebly alkaline. When it is filtered so as to separate nnicus, it does not decompose, and can be kept for a long period of time. The chemistry of bile was long involved in the greatest obscurity, as it is a fluid which, under the influence of re- agents, is very easily decomposed, and many substances which are the products of such decomposition were considered as essential constituents of it. We mainly owe our knowledge of the composition of bile to the researches of Strecker. The bile contains about 16 per cent, of solid constituents; these consist of resiaous acids combined with soda, of colour- ing matter, of cholesterine, neutral fats, besides certain mineral matters. Bile Acids. — If we examine the bile of the ox we shall find that it contains two very remarkable acids, the one crys- tallizable, the other non-crystallizable; to the first the name glykocholic acid is given, to the second that of tauroehoKc acid; these acids are found in the bUe of most animals, though not of all. They are obtained by evaporating bile to drjmess in a water bath, making an alcoholic extract, and then adding a large excess of ether. A bulky white precipi- tate falls, which consists of glykocholate and taurocholate of soda. This soon assumes a resinous appearance, and in a few hours crystals shoot up, these are glykocholate of soda, and the uncrystaUizable portion consists of taurocholate of soda. If the ether be poured off, the precipitates dissolved in water, and acetate of lead added, glykocholate of lead is pre- cipitated; if the precipitate be now separated by filtration, and sub-acetate of lead (3 Pbo, C^ Hg Og) added to the clear liquid which filters through, a white precipitate of taurocholate of lead falls. From the two lead salts, glyko- cholic and taurochoUc acid can respectively be obtained, by suspending them in water, and passing a current of sulphur- THE BILE. 241 etted hydrogen througk it. These two acids are found in the bile combined with soda. Glykocholate of soda has the formula Na 0, Cg2 H42 NOn. If glykocholic acid be boiled with a dilute solution of potash, it is decomposed into choHc acid and glycine, hence its name. TaurochoUc acid contains sulphur, and has the composition O52 H45 NS2 O14; its soda salt is not crystaUizable. The biliary acids of the dog differ from those of the ox, in that neither of them is precipitated by acetate of lead, whereas both are precipitated by sub-acetate of lead. The pig's bUe contaias no crystaUizable substance, the ether precipitate being entirely resiaous in appearance. The colouring matter of the bUe, called bULverdine, has been little studied, and we do not even know approximatively its proportion in the bUe. The bile of most of the camivora has a yellow colour; that of the herbivora a green. There appear to be two varieties of colouring matter, viz., a brown and a green; the former seems to be converted into the latter, if the bile remains in the gall-bladder. Cholesterine is a constant constituent of the bUe, and it appears to be kept in solution by the taurocholates. The mineral ingredients of bile are chloride of sodium, phosphate of soda, carbonate of soda, phosphate of lime, and magnesia. Tests for Bile are two in number. The one consists in the action of nitric acid, which causes it to assume a variety of colours, viz., green, violet, red, and yellow; it is unsatis- factory, however, as it only proves the existence of bile colouring matter, which it causes to assume these varieties of colour. The other test, generally known by the name of Pettenkofer's test, is much more satisfactory, as it demon- strates the existence of one or both bile-acids. It consists in B 242 THE BILE. the addition of a drop or two of a solution of cane sugar to the liquid suspected to contain bUe. Sulphuric acid is then added to the extent of about one-third of the portion of the liquid which is being tested. A violet and red tint is then gradually produced if bile be present. The function of the bile in digestion is, as we have already- said, stiU involved in the greatest obscurity. Some have considered that it is simply excrementitious, and have sup- ported their opinion by the fact of animals with biliary fistulse living for an almost indefinite period, although no bUe reaches the intestine, provided the quantity of food supplied be suf- ficient. The quantity of bUe bears a certain proportion to the weight of the body in all animals, and is very much aifected by the quantity of food taken. Colin has dravm the following conclusions from his experi- ments in the horse. Istly, That the biliary secretion is con- tinuous, whether the animals are operated uppn during the process of digestion, or have been fasting. 2ndly, That this secretion is not subject to the variable activity which is observed with regard to the salivary and pancreatic fluids. 2rdly, That this function is slowest when digestion is most disturbed, and animals grow weaker after the operation. i^thly, For three or four hours after a fistula has been made in the horse, the secretion amounts to 250 or 300 grammes, so that in twenty-four hours a horse would secrete about 6000 grammes, or twelve pounds weight. otMy, The bile appears always to possess the same characters, the same degree of consistence, of fluidity, the same colour and reaction. Por every pound weight of the entire body, there is secreted in the dog 140 grains of bile, in the sheep 178. These respectively containing 5'712 grains, and 9408 grains of THE BILE. 243 bile solids. If we consider the quantity of bile secreted by the liver, we must come to the conclusion that, although per- haps not an essential, it still must play an important part in the function of digestion. When bile is added to the matters dissolved by gastric juice, it stops the process of digestion, and exerting an anti- septic action, they may be kept for a long time without under- going a further change; it, moreover, precipitates the albumi- noid substances which have been dissolved. It appears likely that the bile, whose action is intermediate between gastric and intestinal digestion, arrests the former entirely, while it pre- cipitates the alimentary matters on the coats of the intestine, there to be subjected to the action of other secretions. It probably facilitates the absorption of fat, as the faeces of dogs with biliary fistulas generally contain fat, and it seems un- doubtedly to exert an antiseptic action, and prevents decom- position of the iutestinal contents, for in these dogs the excrements have a most repulsive odour. The experiments of Bidder and Schmidt have shown that the bile is secreted in greatest abundance by the liver from twelve to fifteen hours after the introduction of food into the stomach; and the experiments of Dalton,* and others, show that it is discharged into the intestine in by far the largest quantity immediately after feeding, and within the first hour. Bernard supposes that the acidity of the chyme stimulates this discharge, for he found that on touching the opening of the ductus choledocus in the intestines, with a glass rod dipped in acetic acid, bile was immediately squirted into it. In its course through the intestines the bile is in great part absorbed, how and by what means is not, however, known, for it can- not be detected in the blood of the portal vein, or in the chyle. * See Paitos's Treatise on Human Physiology, p. 156. 244 THE PANCREAS. The Panceeas. This organ so much resembles the salivary glands in structure, that it has been termed the abdominal salivary gland. It is very irregular in form in different animals, and indeed there are several glandular masses, with separate Fig. 96. — Pancreas and pancreatic ducts in the dog. — (Beknare.) P P, Pancreas: a, pylorus ; b, glands of Brunner : c c', large pancreatic duct ; d, eminence formed by the duodenal glands; e, small pancreatic duct at its opening in the intestine; /, anastomosis not constant between the large and small pancreatic duct; j/, orifice of the biliary duct; h, orifice of small, and i, of the large pancreatic duct ; fc', anastomosis of the large with the small duct. THE PANCREAS. 245 ducts., in some animals grouped under the name pancreas. In the dog we observe the same simplicity in form as in the horse. (See Fig. 96.) It is through this gland that the large veia, carrying the blood from the intestines to the liver — ^vena porta — ^passes. The aperture in the gland for this large vein is called the ring of the pancreas. The pancreas has two ducts, the large one c c', fig. 96, and the smaller one e. This arrangement is seen in the cat as well as in the horse and dog. (See Fig. 97.) Kg. 97. — Pancreas and.duodenum of the cat. a. Pylorus; 6, glands of Brunuer; e, de- scending branch of the inferior pancreatic duct ; /, inferior pancreatic duct ; g, opening into the intestine of the inferior pancreatic duct ; %> '^%l', pancreas ; pyloric portion of the stomach; % biliary duct. The pancreatic ducts enter tlie duodenum, into which the secretion is discharged close to, or in company with, the 24C THE PANCREAS. lig. 98. P'g. 1. p i'ig, 1.— Supplementary pancreatic glands in the ox. P, large pancreas; C C C", large pancreatic duct which opens in the intestine at C; d', small pancreatic duct open- ing into the biliary duct at C H and D, and anastomosing with the large pancreatic duct d'; V, small supplementary pancreas opening in the biliary duct; C H, open biliaiy duct; intestinal extremity of the bUiary duct; ~E, small portion of liver. Fig. 2. — C H, Biliary duct in which three supplementary pancreatic ducts open, P P'Jb"' ; I, Intestinal extremity of the duct; H H H H, branches of the biliary duct at its opening in the intestine. Fig. 3. — P, Pancreatic patch contained in the coats of the biliary duct C H; I, intes- tinal extremity of the duct, H H H, its divisions in the entrance to the liver; F, section of liver. Fig. 4. — Section of the pancreatic patch of the preceding figui-e enlarged; P, section of the glandular tissue; C, internal surface of the biliary duct; m m', thickness of the coats of the biliary duct. THE PAKCEEAS. 247 biliary duct. In some animals, such as tlie rabbit, the dis- tance between the two ducts is considerable, and in all such cases the pancreatic duct is the one most distant from the pylorus. In the ox there is a special arrangement for the combina- tion of the biliary and pancreatic ducts. Bernard has shown, by drawings which I here reproduce (see Pig. 98), how small portions of pancreas are attached or intimately blended with the biliary duct, and discharge a fluid to mix with the bile before the latter enters the intestine. The subjoined Mg. 99 also indicates the biliary canal of u cow, the intestine and duct being laid open : — Fig. 99 — C B, biliaiy duct opened to show the small entices p p, wliich constitute the apertures of the secondary pancreatic ducts; I, duodenum; C, rennet. The Pai^^ceeatic Juice Is a colourless, transparent, and slightly viscid liquid, of allialiae reaction, and coagulable by heat; in appearance, as in physiological character, it resembles saliva. Before dis- 248 THE PANCEEATIC JUICE. cussing these properties, we shall, however, describe the operation for establishing a pancreatic fistula. An incision having been made in the right hypochondrium (i.e., right side) of a dog, below the ribs on one side, and parallel with the median line, the duodenum is seized and drawn out of the wound, together with the pancreas which is attached to it. The larger of the two pancreatic ducts which opens into the duodenum about half an inch below the com- mon bile duct, is rapidly isolated from surrounding struc- tures; and, having been opened, a small silver tube is intro- duced into it and fastened by a ligature, which is passed around it. The duodenum and pancreas are then returned to the abdomen, and the wound is sewed up, care being taken to leave the silver tube hanging out. SPBf Fig, 100.— A, principal duct of the dog's pancreas; a, insertion of the pancreatic ducts into the intestines in which tube T is inserted ; a', lesser pancreatic duct ; a", ligature lixing the tube ; //, string which supports the ligatures ; I, intestine ; P F, pancreas : V, bladder to collect the secretion. THE PANCEEATIC JUICE. 24.9 To the extremity of this is fastened a little gutta-percha bag with a stop-cock, so as to draw off the pancreatic juice when a sufficient quantity has collected.* It is quite im- possible, however, to establish a permanent pancreatic fistula like a permanent gastric or hepatic fistula, for the tube falls out in the course of two or three days, and the wound healing up, the animal generally recovers. The pancreatic juice collected on the second and third day is generally abnormally liquid, and has a disagreeable odour. Pancreatic juice contains water, salts, and a peculiar animal principle, to which the name of pancreatinine has been given. According to Bernard, it contains from 8 to 10 parts of solids, and from 90 to 92 parts of water in 100 parts. The animal principle which it contains resembles albumen in being coagulated by heat; it is coagulated by nitric acid, and the coagnlum is soluble in an excess of the acid; it is entirely precipitated by sulphate of magnesia. It is precipi- tated from pancreatic juice by alcohol, and the precipitate is soluble in water. The solution thus obtained possesses the properties of pancreatic juice. After having been exposed to the air for a short time, pancreatic juice is coloured red by chlorine, and the same takes place in pancreatic juice obtained by means of a fistula two or three days after the operation. This colour has been shown by Bernard to depend on the action of chlorine or pancreatinine. The mineral constituents of pancreatic juice are chloride of sodium, alkaline and earthy phosphates, alkaline sulphates, and carbonate of Hme. When the pancreatic juice begins to decompose, beautiftd crystals of sulphate of lime are deposited. The functions of the pancreatic secretion have of late years been satisfactorily studied by Bernard, and other able experi- * See Bernard, Legons de Physiologie, p. 190. 250 ■ THE PANCEEATIC JUICE. menters. Their researches have shown that the pancreatic juice converts the starchy constituents of the food into sugar, and that it emulsionizes fatty matters, i.e., it reduces them to a minute state of subdivision, holding them in suspension. The first of these properties it possesses in a much higher degree than the saliva, and the second seems almost peculiar to it. Whether it decomposes the fats which it emulsionizes, has not yet been satisfactorily made out. This property of emulsionizing fat has been doubted by Berard and CoHn, who extirpated the pancreas from four yoimg dogs, two pigs, a goose, and a duck; they all grew and lived to be adults, and the conclusion arrived at by these distinguished physiologists is, that the pancreatic juice is not essential to the absorption of fatty matters. Pappenheim and Purkinje, many years ago, arrived at the conclusion that the pancreas as well as the stomach secretes a substance capable of transforming protein matters into pep- tone. Oorvisart's experiments confirm this, and this author thinks that the pancreatic juice is intended to act upon that part of the albuminoid substances which have left the sto- mach before being transformed into peptone. Keferstein and Hallwachs contest this, and believe that the effects described by Corvisart are due to putrefaction. Dr Brinton also finds the action of pancreatic juice on albumen very irregular. Cor- visart considers that Keferstein and Hallwachs experimented with pancreatic juice secreted under abnormal circumstances, and the irregularity in action which Brinton' has noticed, he explains on the fluid not being collected when the animal is in the act of digestion, the juice of the pancreas from the fasting animal having little or no power over coagulated al- bumen. Funke agrees with Corvisart, and, on the whole, the evidence yet aflbrded us preponderates in favour of a cer- INTESTINAi SECEETIONS. 251 tain specific action of the pancreatic juice on albuminoid sub- stances. Intbstinai, Secretions. The glandular apparatus in the mucous membrane of the intestine yields an abundant secretion, which may readily be collected in a fold of intestine by placing a couple of pairs of clams at some distance from each other in the tube. As much as from 3 to 4 ounces of fluid may be obtained in half an hour in a couple of yards of small intestine. If intestinal digestion is stopped the quantity of secretion is small, but the amount is large if a solution of aloes or of sulphate of soda is introduced into the fold. Intestinal juice thus ob- tained is of a clear yellowish colour. Taste slightly salt and alkaline reaction. M. Lassaigne found that it contained — Albumen 0'45 Chloride of sodium „ of potassium Phosphate and Carbonate of soda Water 98-1 Its den-sity is 1-010 at the temperature of 15° centigrade. If the intestinal secretions are mixed with some oU, a soapy mixture is produced, and this is seen whether the oil be poured in the intestine during an experiment, or added to a quantity of the fluid outside the body. In canivorous ani- mals this product of the mucous membrane is very scanty. It is evident, then, that the acid material which passes from the stomach into the intestine is at once neutralized by the alkaline secretions it meets in the duodenum. The glands of BrUnner yield a considerable quantity of fluid which, mised with the bile and pancreatic juice, tend to render the alimentary matters alkaline, to dissolve all 145 252 INTESTINAL SECEETIONS. soluble substances, and thus facilitate absorption. The alkalinity of the contents of the intestines increases near the coecum, and certain principles in the food are digested, espe- cially the starchy principles. It would appear, that when the gastric digestion is very active, the intestinal contents are less decidedly alkaline, but the alkalinity is very marked when the acid secretion within the stomach has been scanty, and digestion is chiefly carried on in the intestinal tube. The fluidity of the contents of the small intestine is in part due to the abundant secretions which are mixed with the food, after it has passed through the stomach, but also to the rapid onward passage of indigestible matters which accumu- late in the large intestine. The process of solution and dilu- tion to which the alimentary matters are subjected in the small intestine, are very favourable to the absorption which we shall hereafter fully consider. The first portion of the large intestine or blind head of the colon — coecum caput coli — is distended with very fluid contents, and in the horse this organ has been spoken of by slaughterers and others as a second stomach. It retains liquids which pass rapidly through the small intestine for some time, and they get gra- dually absorbed. The solid mass, which moves slowly towards the anus be- coming harder and drier, contains: Istly, all indigestible materials, and especially in vegetable feeders, food protected by a cuticular envelope, and which may have escaped masti- cation; 2ndly, digestible materials which have escaped solu- tion and absorption; Srdly, epithelium and residue of secre- tions discharged in abundance by the mucous surface of the intestine and glands before-mentioned. Mr Sibson says: — " The solid excrements consist of those portions of the food unfit for assimilation, consisting for the most part of woody fibre, as well as of other insoluble materials of the INTESTINAL SECRETIONS. 253 food that can only be removed from the system through this chamieL The composition of the solid excrements of different kinds of animals varies to a still greater extent than that of the urine; moreover, the mechanioal form oi these substances materially influences their agricultural value, as it is on this circumstance that the facility with which they undergo decay chiefly depends, and consequently that regulates their fitness for particular purposes. The average composition of the solid excrements of our domestic animals may be thus stated : — Appkoximate Composition of the Solid Excrements op the Horse. Cow. Sheep. Pig. Water 760 ... 840 ... 580 ... 800 Organic matter, woody por- ) tions of food and other V 210 ... 136 ... 360 ...170 insoluble matter ) Containing nitrogen, ca^ ) pable of yielding of am- [ (6-10) ... (3-6) ... (9-02) ... (-73) monia ) Mineral substances, consist- 1 ing of insoluble salts of > 30 ... 25 ... 60 ... 30 food ) Containing phosphoric acid... (3-48) ...(2-25) ... (6-2) ...(4-5) 1000 1000 1000 1000 The difference ia the consistence of the solid excrement should not be overlooked. In the horse it should always be firm and in round balls or masses, moulded according to the shape of the folds of the ihtestine. In the cow it is softer, and cannot be rolled into the masses just mentioned, from the disposition of the intestine. Without entering iato far- ther particukrs, I wish to poiat to the importance of not feed- ing a horse in such a way that its dimg is soft and Kke that of a cow: but by regularity in feeding on corn and hay, with 254 INTESTINAL CONCRETIONS. proper exercise and sufficient water, constipation need not be feared, and impactions are very rarely witnessed. Intestinal Concretions. — ^Not only do we find indigestible materials accumidate in the intestine, but if any foreign ob- ject, sucb as a small pebble, a nail, &c., penetrates the large intestine, it acts as a nucleus around which materials of different kinds agglomerate, and concretions of large size are formed. Sometimes the food may clog, and adhere to the mucous membrane, constituting a stercoral concretion. I have seen a solid deposit of excrement perforated through its centre, so as to admit of the passage of fseces, but which clogged and incapacitated a considerable portion of the intes- tinal tube. Occasionally a calculus forms in the stomach of the horse from the accumulation of calcareous salts — ^phosphates of ammonia and magnesia — around a piece of metal or other substance. The deposit is at first crystaUiae, and after- wards amorphous — -the external surface, however, being smooth and polished. Mr Stanley, of Leamington, found two large calculi in the stomach of a horse, weighing respec- tively 4 and 5 lbs. ; the latter being wedged at the opening of the duodenum, causing death. The intestinal concretions have been classified according to their composition. Thus we have phosphatic calcuH, oat- hair calculi or dust balls, and mixed calculi. These are dis- tinct from the simple stercoral masses which consist alone of hardened faeces. Gurlt has classified the calculi according to their colour, but Professor Morton's classification is best. The phosphatic calculi vary in size from a pea to a mass twenty pounds in weight. They have a smooth, polished external surface, and approach the spherical form. If several are formed together, they are flattened on their sides. A section proves the presence of a nucleus, around which strati- INTESTINAL CONCEETIONS. 255 fied layers of eaithy and animal matter exist. Girardin found in one — Ammonio-phospliate of magnesia . 48'00 Phosphate of lime 19-00 Water 1400 Animal matter .... •80 Soluble salts, &c. . 6-60 Extractive matters 400 Fatty matter .... 7-00 Loss •60 10000 In millers' horses the second form has been frequently found, and is composed almost entirely of the beard of the oat or barley firmly matted together, and disposed in concen- tric layers, with the admixture of mucous and some excre- mentitial materials. These are the dust balls or oat-hair concretions which sometimes attain great size. The mixed calculi contain dung, phosphatic salts, mucous, oat hairs, and any indigestible or agglutinating material, which may surround any solid object which may accidentally float ia the intestine. An interesting case of calculus ia the horse's intestine is reported by Mr Maclaren Kitching, in the first volume of the Edinburgh Veterinary Review. The calculus is in the New Veterinary CoUege Museum. It is irregularly spherical and nodulated; two pounds nine ounces in weight, and five inches and a half in diameter. Its external characters are those of an ordinary oat-hair calculus, with a phosphatic one imbed- ded deeply in it. (See Kg. 101.) The small calculus a, at the lower part, is of the mixed kind, and appears to have formed round a stone. This is a 256 INTESTINAL CONCEETIONS. remarkable instance of the coalescence of phosphatic and oat-hair concretions. The non-scientific usually imagine that intestinal concre- tions are stones swallowed by animals. I can record a case in which a common marble was the cause of a dog's death. I was asked to examine a terrier dog last autumn, with the not uncommon declaration, that the animal must have been poisoned, as it had died so suddenly and in such violent pain. On opening the abdomen, I observed a solid spherical mass distending the duodenum about two inches from the pylorus, and it turned out that this was a marble which the aniaial had swallowed when with some children who were playing at marbles. CHAPTEE V. DISEASES OF THE INTESTINE, LIVEE, AND PANCEEA5. Intestinal parasites in the horse, ox, sheep, pig, and dog. — Constipation in foals.— Colic. — Causes, viz., physical and vital. — Symptoms. — Complicated varieties. — Post-mortem appearances. — Treatment. — The common prac- tices condemned. — Mr Joseph Gamgee Senior's plan — Its certainty and safety. — Results. — Ruptured stomach. — Ruptured colon. — Ruptured rec- tum. — Volvulus or ileus. — Intussusception of the small and of the large intestine. — ^Mr Pereivall on intussusception.— Pathological anatomy of the lesion. — Obstructions by tumours. — Ligatures of the intestine by pedun- culated growths. — Enteritis. — Exudative enteritis. — Peritonitis. — Dysen- tery. — Enzootic dysentery. — Dam or wood evil. — Diarrhoea. — White scour in lambs and calves.— rDilatation of rectum. — Imperforate anus. — ■ Fistula in ano. — Prolapsus ani. — Proctorrhcea. — Haemorrhoids. — Hernia. — ^Umbilical — Inguinal — Scrotal — ^Ventral — ^Mesenteric. — Guttie in cattle. — ^Phrenic and omental hemise. — Diseases of the liver. — Jaundice. — Hse- patirrhcea. — Hepatitis. — Biliary calculi. — Parasitic diseases. — Pancreas. — Functional and structural disorders. — Pancreatic calculi. Intestinal Paeasites. Theee is a marked difference in oui^ domestic animals as to the kinds of worm whicli give-rise to unpleasant symptoms, and call for medical interference. In the horse, we rarely observe any form of tapeworm to be troublesome, and the parasites usually noticed are the bots when discharged in spring, the large roimd worm so often and very improperly called lumbricus, and which is the ascaitis megalocephala, and the so-called needleworm, which is the strongylus armatus. S 258 INTESTINAi PAEASITES. The forms of taenia observed in the horse are — taenia plicata, T. perfoliata, and T. mamillana. Symptoms. — When parasites accumulate in large numbers in the horse, the digestive organs become disturbed, assimi- lation is imperfect; however rich and abundant the food, the animal does not thrive, and is hide-bound. This condition predisposes to various di.sorders, and is attended with occa- sional attacks of colic. Treatment. — ^A brisk purge may sometimes suffice to clear the parasites out of the intestine, and restore the animal to health. In many instances further treatment is called for, and either of the following prescriptions may be used — ]^ Iron filings . . . . 6 oz. Common mass, sufficient to make 12 balls, one of which must be given every morning, and on the twelfth day a good dose of aloes, which will cause a copious discharge of worms. Or — :i^ Sulphur 12 oz. Arsenic 1 drachm. Bruised coriander seeds . . 6 oz. Divide int6 twelve powders, and give one daily for twelve days. This is a very sure remedy in cases in which the as- caris megalocephala is abundant. The ox is not very much tormented with parasites, and I can only repeat what I have said in my work on Dairy Stock, that " the strongylus radiatus and ascaris lumbricoides are amongst the most common round worms to be met with in the intestine of the ox. Ascarides abound in the small in- testine of wealdy calves, within a very short time after birth, and the system suffers very severely, as indicated by great emaciation; and when the animals are killed, the flesh has a peculiarly disagreeable, mawkish odour. The best remedy in these cases is iron, either in the form of iron filings or pow- INTESTINAL PAEASITES. 259 dered sulphate of iron, given in treacle as an electuary. The '• worms are rapidly discharged, and the young animal acqiiires ' strength and condition. Cows are not often troubled with tapeworm, though two kinds — taenia expansa, and tsenia denticulata are occasionally met with in their intestines. The only sjTnptoms of their presence during life are the discharge of rings of the worms, attended by a little intestinal irrita- tion. The best remedy is turpentine in mucilage, or thick liDseed tea." In the sheep, various species of strongylus, such as Str. cemuus and contortus, inhabit the iatestine, but only one tapeworm is known — (tcenia expansa.) Though little is known of tapeworm in the sheep in this country, neverthe- less in some parts of the world this parasite is very trouble- some, and destroys many lambs. If I am correctly informed, this is the case in Australia, where, after torrents of rain, portions of tapeworms are readily seen in large numbers on the washed sod. Thus existing as an enzootic affection, it is of great importance, as sheep affected with tapeworm pine and become emaciated, as weU as predisposed to a number of other diseases which prove destructive. No properly de- vised means of cure has been suggested. Overstocked land appears to suffer most, and it may be necessary to reduce the number of sheep kept. All the advice that can be given is based on the well-known fact, that in proportion as you invigorate the systems of animals, they are less subject to parasitic disorders, so that sanitary precautions of a general nature are to be adopted. In individual cases, the best remedy is turpentine, given in drachm doses, in thick linseed tea, linseed oil, or grueL The pig is attacked by a large, round intestinal worm — (echinorhynchus gigas) — a parasite which propagates rapidly, and produces serious disturbance of the intestinal organs of 260 . INTESTINAL PAKASITES. young pigs. Ascarides and tseniai are occasionally asso- ciated with the echinorhynchus, producing emaciation, weak- ness of the loins, and rigidity of the hind extremities. In the morning, and until feeding time, the pigs grunt and cry out incessantly, and have even a tendency to bite each other. The faeces become hard and dry, the skin tense, eyes sunken, and the visible mucous membranes are pallid. Debility in- creases, and the animals die from exhaustion. Treatment consists, in the early stage, in the administration of a couple of croton beans in food. If by purgation the para- sites are not removed, sulphur may be given freely. In a strong pig a quarter of an ounce of turpentine may be given iii four ounces of linseed oil and a little grueL Great care must be exercised not to kill the pig in administering draughts.* Dogs are often troubled with worms, and most frequently with taenia cucumerina, taenia serrata, and with the round worm, ascaris marginata — ^the maw- worm; the latter very frequently requires to be expelled. Some dogs with tapeworm are not much disturbed, and their condition is only suspected from the appearance of rings of the worm on the tail or excrement. There is, how- ever, constipation, straining, and uneasiness in many in- stances. It is at aU times desirable, especially on farms, to keep dogs clear of tapeworms. The maw-worm is displaced readily, especially in young dogs, by means of the following electuary : — Iron filings . . . . 1 oz. Treacle . . . , 4 „ A teaspoonful morning and night to dogs. Young dogs improve largely on the above treatment. A -decoction of quassia or lime water may be used as an injec- tion, vnth the effect of displacing the parasites. A brisk * See The Veterinarian's Vade-Mecum. CONSTIPAtlON. 261 aloetic or oleaginous purge has the same effect, but I prefer the iron treatment as the most efiBcacious and safe. Tapeworm is displaced readily by kousso, oil of male fern, turpentine, areca nut, for which I subjoin prescriptions : — R Areca nut . . . . ^ oz. Conserve, as much as sufficient. Divide into 12 balls, if for small dogs, and into eight if for large. "^ Oil of male fern ... 20 drops. Made into pill with flour. Constipation. All animals are occasionally subject to costiveness. Some are predisposed to this condition, whereas others have rather an opposite tendency. It is more frequently a symptom of disease than meriting the name of a distinct affection, never- theless, iu all animals will loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and difficulty in voiding excrement supervene, if the regular peristaltic movement of the intestine and natural condition of the intestinal contents be interfered with. In dogs, this is a troublesome affection, often due to habits of cleanliness en- gendered; and it is extremely cruel to force an animal not to relieve its bowels, unless when it may please its master to turn it into a convenient place. It is cruel, at all events, if atten,- tion be not paid to frequently letting the animal at freedom. Treatment. — Frequently by regularity and moderation in diet the disease is overcome. Mild laxatives may be occa- sionally employed, but brisk cathartics are only rarely called into requisition. Warm water injections and plenty of exer- cise are to be recommended. Constipation is a troublesome, and, indeed, dangerous con- dition in newly-born foals. The meconium or excrement 262 COLIC. wMcli accumulates in intra-uterine life becomes hard, and can- not be expelled, giving rise to colic and very urgent symptoms. Injections are to be relied on, especially if employed early. Colic. Under this general term must be included a variety of conditions, all giving rise to abdominal pain. In the horse there is no more common or more frequently fatal affection than that which has received the names of spasmodic colic, flatulent colic, indigestion, gripes, inflammation, stoppage, and many more remarkable ones still. The Germans have divided colic into the true and false kinds. The first being intestinal, and the second dependent on disorder of the Hver, or urinary apparatus, as in cases of calculi, &c. We may define the trae or intestinal coHc to be a spasmodic affection of the intestiae, never inflammatory, and not having a tendency to run on to inflammation, as most authors, teachers, and practitioners stUl erroneously believe, but due to some primary cause which interferes with the regular peristaltic movement of the intestine, and some- times brought on by a combination of circumstances, the most trivial of which is not unfrequently regarded as the real cause of the disturbance. Causes. — The great causes of coHc are — overfeeding, bad and irregular feeding, over- work, and neglecting the first signs of any intestinal derangement, indicated by constipation, &c. With regard to over-feeding, it is certain that if horses are crammed simply because they have a voracious appetite, the intestines become over-loaded, and spasms soon appear. Some Scottish farmers give their horses between twenty and thirty lbs. of oats daily. Under the head 'bad feeding,' we might include the abominable boiled-meat system. Hard- worked horses in Scotland get mixtures of corn and sheel- COLIC. 263 Lngs,* with beans, pease-meal, and other stuff, which is called strong meat, and a very liberal feed is given three times a-day, or in turn miUers' horses get the nose-bag put over their heads as often as they are stopped for any time, in delivering flour, &c. At night, notwithstanding the three ample feeds, a paUful of boiled turnips, barley, and bran, is given to each animal, besides an unlimited supply of hay. It is not astonishing, then, if our superb Clydesdales are destroyed in. large numbers with attacks of spasmodic coHc. Irregularity of feeding is very injurious, especially if coupled with over-work, and the days of the nose-bags were preceded by many deaths which are far from rare now-a-days also, and due to animals being fed weU after many hours' starva- tion and hard work. Exhaustion, coupled with the causes just mentioned, induces colic. Not unfrequently an attack of colic may be due to an animal being feverish or disturbed from causes that are hidden and unknown. With such febrile disturbance, the intestinal secretions are scanty, and consti- pation produces the impaction of solid excrement in the large intestine, which is soon attended with severe abdominal pain. It is, therefore, not easy to define many causes which may indirectly tend to produce spasmodic colic. The usually mentioned causes are — a drink of cold water, or exposure to rain. These are often inert, or insufBcient, and only help to disturb the balance of function. The intestinal concretions described in the last chapter are often the causes of relapsing forms of colic, which are occasionally relieved by the evacuation of a calculus, or under the influence of a purge by the faeces passing by the obstruc- tion. Parasites in the intestine also induce colic. * English readers are informed that the sheeling is the thin sub- stance containing the meal, and which by the last operation of grind- ing, is separated into two parts, viz., meal and meal-seeds. 264 COLIC. In the ox colic is more rare than in the horse, but it is due to similar causes. Irritant poisons in all animals induce symptoms of colic, and then the disease is often inflammatory. Symptoms. — Indications of abdominal pain; pawing, shifting about, and crouching ; the horse looks round at hi 5 flanks, sometimes attempts to bite himself; he lies down and turns on his belly, or roUs on his back, and often as the paroxysm is abating, he Hes outstretched on his side as if to rest himself; he then rises, shakes himself, is no more in pain, and seeks food. When the animal is sufiering, the pulse is frequent, the breathing accelerated and panting; the eyes are prominent and staring; there is an expression of anguish, and often great listlessness. AU subsides — but shortly the symptoms return, often in an aggravated form. Sometimes the attacks diminish in violence, become fewer and far between, and the animal recovers ; but under other circumstances the pain becomes continued, the pulse quick and hard; there is sympathetic derangement of the brain; the animal reels to and fro, lies down, obstinately turns on his back, relaxing the muscles of his hind limbs, the ktter drop forwards so that the tense state of the belly may be re- lieved; the extremities are cold; there is twitching of the muscles; cold sweats bedew the body here and there; the lips are retracted, the teeth exposed, and the horse dies. From first to last, animals afiected with colic are costive — ■ few and small balls of dung are occasionally passed. There is coUc, with diarrhoea or looseness of the bowels, which occurs when the disease arises from eating diseased pota- toes, not unfrequently given to farm-horses. Urine is scanty, if any be passed at all; and whenever there is a copious evacuation, it is considered a critical and favourablo sign, and the horse is then often looked upon as cured. COLIC. 265 In the horse the stomach may be so overloaded as to pro- duce symptoms of vomiting, and even effectual regurgitation of food. Though usually a fatal sign, animals may recover notwithstanding rejection from the stomach. A dangerous complication is tympanitis or distention of the intestine with gas. This constitutes that form of the disease called flatulent colic. When the abdominal pain is continuous, organic lesion is generally to be suspected; and the case of coUc may end in rupture of the intestine or of the diaphragm, intussusception and strangulation of the intestine. The often-dreaded in- flammation is very rare, and usually due to irritants which have caused the colic, or which have been injudiciously given as medicine. The duration of the disease is variable. The attack may be transitory, and last but an hour; it may be long-continued, and may extend over a day; and indeed a horse may be more or less in pain at intervals for two or three days in succes- sion. Post-mortem Appearances. — It is rare that animals die of simple colic without some complication; whenever they do, the intestine is found loaded — some obstruction is met with either in the shape of a calculus or faecal matter. In some cases, one or more abnormal constrictions are visible on the gut, a condition obviously due to forced contraction of the intestinal muscular fibres. More frequently, in cases of death after colic, the large intestine — the colon especially — is ruptured, and the contents are thrown out into the cavity of the peritoneum. Sometimes the stomach itself is lacerated, more particularly along its great curvature. Treatment. — In no disease so much as in spasmodic cob'c are the powers of nature and the scope of medicine so clearly exemplified. Because cases of colic not unfrequently recover 266 COLIC. under very different modes of treatment, persons are apt to attribute great curative powers to a variety of agents, of wMcli it would be more appropriate to say, that they were not sufficiently injurious to prove &tal, and that recovery was effected in spite of them, rather than to allege that they have been the cause of the cure. Por the preservation of life, nature is far from being wholly dependent on the resources of art, and it is only by availiug of these according to a sound discrimination, that good can be effected in the majo- rity of cases. Oil of turpentine has long been the favourite medicine for the relief of spasmodic colic ; but it is so powerful a stimulant, it so often tends to retard rather than to facilitate the evacu- ation of the bowels, that its administration is much more frequently followed by symptoms of inflammation and death than is any other mode of treatment. This disease well illustrates the great rule, that no plan of treatment is so reasonable and so successful as that which aims at removing effects by directly attacking their causes, no practice so sound as that which follows in nature's steps, and avails of her resources to the utmost extent, as the best mode of overcoming unnatural conditions. This is the great basis of my father's plan, which he has strictly carried out for the last thirty years. I have said that colicky pains are but a symptom, the cause of which is an overloaded state of the bowels, unable to relieve themselves : what more rational than to believe that, with the lightening of the load, the painful sense of its weight will be relieved ? — that removal of the source of irritation will be attended with ease and comfort? Experience proves that such is the case; and there can be no question that by far the safest plan of treatment to be adopted in colic is to aim at evacuating the bowels; with a view to carrying out COLIC. 267 tHs jprinciple in its fullest extent, aloes and enemata are the agents to be employed. Firstly, with reference to aloes; five drachms, as an average dose, should be administered in the early stage of an attack, and but two or three hours elapse, as a rule, before symptoms of decided relief are mani- fested. It is an error to suppose that because from 12 to 20 hours are reqiured to purge a horse, therefore it is not until after that time that relief can be apparent. The length and very huge size of the horse's intestine oppose speedy eva- cuation, but the mucus membrane pours out a large quantity of fluid, which softens the impacted faeces, lubricates the de- licate membrane of the gut, and thereby allays irritation and pain; and these efiects are manifest a comparatively short time after the purgative has been administered. Many who have adopted this principle of treatment have objected to aloes, because said to be irritating, and preferred oU. But oleaginous purgatives are, in horses, of most uncertain opera- tion; added to which, the objection urged against aloes is much too theoretical; experience is opposed to it, and I believe it would be impossible to support the objection with any well-au- thenticated statistical data. It is not unimportant to observe, that even surgeons and physicians of eminence have objected to purgatives in the treatment of spasmodic aSections of the in- testiaes, on the supposed ground of their irritating proper- ties; but the experience of the majority has prescribed, and it is now aU but unanimously admitted, that, under the cir- cumstances mentioned, purgatives are depletives and seda- tives, by virtue of their power to produce copious fluid evacuations, and remove sources of irritation. The second class of remedies above referred to (enemata) should be employed from the very commencement. For this purpose the ordinary pewter syringe is frequently at hand — objectionable, however, on account of its weight and buUcj 268 COLIC. besides the force exerted with it in pushing fluids into the intestine. An excellent substitute, and one not liable to the same objection, is a bladder attached to a tube, such as repre- sented in fig. 2. The tube is commonly made of wood — an objectionable material, because very subject to splitting iu alternations of moisture and dryness, particularly so if the bore of the tube is of considerable size, as it should be to secure eiBciency. A tinned copper tube is preferable, as combining lightness with strength; block-tin should have the further advantage of cheapness, though at the sacrifice of a no less important consideration — durability. A much more efficient instrument is the one represented in Fig. 1. Kg. 102. It consists of a straight metallic tube 12 inches long, tapered and rounded off at one end, bent at a right angle at the op- posite extremity, which supports a broad funnel about 6 inches (leep, and 7 in its greatest diameter. In using this instru- COLIC. 269 ment, its extremity requires to be oiled before introduction ,into the rectum; so soon as this is effected, the fluid — water, with a little oil, is preferable — is poured into the funnel Experience proves, that no pumping force is required to in- ject fluid into the intestines, the effect of gravitation fulfilling the same purpose in a much more simple manner. As the fluid from the funnel gravitates into the rectum, bubbles of gas escape; the action of the gut, thus mildly stimulated, continues until, with the repetition of the process at intervals of a quarter of an hour, the required evacuation is induced, with its attendant relief. In farm-houses, or every other establishment where large numbers of horses are kept, an instrument like the one described should be kept: made of block tin, it is light, cheap, and very durable, quali- fications which, conjoined as they are with the utmost sim- plicity and thorough effectiveness, render the contrivance one of the most useful in relieving disease. My father first recognised the very great advantages of using a fimnel of this description in giving injections to the horse, and has modified the form considerably from the first in use, so as to ensure, with small bulk, the most handy in- strument for the operation. It will be found, especially by young practitioners, that the urgent symptoms of colic alarm considerably all non-profes- sional persons, and every suggestion is made, or numerous questions asked, which either induce persons to try remedies for the immediate suppression of signs of pain, or lead to troublesome interference on the part of persons who can do much mischief. If proper confidence is reposed in the method of treatment by aloes and enemata, all that has to be done is to secure a loose box or shed, well-littered, where the animal can roll 270 EUPTUEED STOMACH. without danger* It is not only wrong, but cruel, to persist in an animal standing, walking, or trotting, wHch is often done with the free use of the whip. Great patience is required in treating severe cases of coHc, and four or five hours may be spent before the symptoms ap- pear to abate. With veterinarians, it should be a standing rule that, as the animal cannot be declared safe until its ab- dominal muscles relax, and evacuation both of faeces and urine is obtained, so should it not be left untU such symp- toms of relief are noticed. Washing a little tepid water into the animal's mouth, or giving it a little nitre or spirits of nitric ether in water, can do no harm, and often palliates the intense thirst which the animal often experiences. Above aU things, opiates and other stimulants or narcotics must be avoided. If cases of coHo are neglected or improperly treated, the results which we are now about to consider are observed. RuPTUEED Stomach. I have alluded repeatedly to this lesion as occurring in the horse, from the obstacles to the act of vomiting which exist in this animal. The rupture involves the muscular coat first, and the mucous membrane which protrudes through the latter gives way also, and either the contents drop into the omental sac, or, from the close manner in which the abdominal organs are packed, by an effort of the abdominal muscles, rejection by the mouth occurs. Symptoms. — A horse that has, by accident, got at a corn bin or sack of oats, eats to repletion, and is observed after- wards to breathe heavily, stagger, look round at his flanks, * I have lost a horse by ruptured diaphragm, from not having a loose box to turn him into. The animal fixed its limbs against the stall post, and, in a struggle to extricate itself, injured itself fatally. EUPTUEED STOMACH. 271 roll, and then suddenly to be seized with symptoms of vomit- ing, and food passes freely out at the nostrils. Exhaustion speedily ensues, and though the animal makes a violent effort not to fall, and even catches at the manger or stall post with his teeth, he nevertheless sinks to the ground not to rise again. Mr John Pield, in referring to a case in which frequent retching was observed, says : " From this last symp- tom I inferred rupture of the stomach, although nothing had been seen to have been ejected, and on this account no medicine was given by the mouth." I have quoted, at page .153, from Mr John Field's Records, a case to show that vomiting might occur without rupture ; and other cases might be brought forward to show that rupture is occasionally not indicated by rejection from the stomach. Mr Percivall says: " I remember the late Mr John Field observing to me one day, that he never had witnessed a case of ruptured stomach without vomiting occurring prior to death, which he thought very remarkable. The trooper, however, of my regiment, who glutted himself overnight, and died the following morn- ing, did not exhibit this symptom." There is no doubt, however, that the rupture of the stomach is one of the con- ditions favourable to free exit of food through the cardiac orifice, and out by the mouth. — (See page 154.) Though I have here referred to ruptured stomach as a result of coHc, there are many circumstances under which it may be observed. Dupuy mentions a case due to a draught of water on a full stomach, and this is not an unfrequent cause ; also blows, faUs, and violent straining, which Mr Per- civall has noticed in his Hippopathology. RuPTUEED Colon. As the stomach or other hoUow organ, so may the intestine be paralysed by over- distention, and its muscular coat will 272 EUPTirEED EBCTTJM. thus give way, and witli it the peritoneal covering and mucous lining of the tube. The causes of such rupture are therefore over-distention, jerking movements of the animal, especially in trottiag, and not attending to prompt evacuation. Symptoms are not very distinct, and the rupture is usually recognised only on a post-mortem examination. The relief •which occurs suddenly in an attack of spasmodic colic, coupled ■with the readiness with which water passes into the intes- tine, though all clysters have been violently ejected before, and aU this followed by the animal acquiring rapidly a very anxious expression, sweating, and sinking fast, may indicate the organic lesion. It is doubtful how long an animal may live after the rupture has occurred. In some cases -death is almost instantaneous, but if the immediate shock of the rup- ture is overcome, death may be delayed for hours, and per- haps days, but the animal evinces symptoms of peritonitis and severe fever ia the latter instance, which prove the case to be hopeless. Such instances of prolonged life are doubt- less very rare. KUPTUEED EeCTUM. Mr John Pield records two cases of this singular lesion : — "May 12th, 1837. — I was this day called to see a horse belonging to Mr S — . It was a case of protrusion of the intestines, their external coats being exposed through' the anus. The parts protruding were the convoluted portion of the rectum, and the curvature of the colon ; the mesocolon was ruptured, and, from the intestines being exposed on their peritoneal surfaces, it was certain that the rectum had rup- tured. The horse was destroyed by injecting the jugular with a solution of nitre. " Examination. — The rectum was found broken entirely off at the sacral attachment, and the piece so broken off had en- VOLVULUS. — ILEUS. 273 tered the remaining portion, and by the efforts of the horse had been gradually forced through the anus. " The lining of the colon (that is, of the part extended) was much gorged, and quite black." Mr Field also refers to a case in which a melanotic tumor caused obstruction and rupture of the rectum. Volvulus. — Ileus. Under these names diseases have been described affecting man and animals, and which consist in various forms of en- tanglement of the intestine, supervening in or giving rise to severe colic. I do not include under this head accidents which consist in the accidental intrusion into a natural or artificial opening of a portion of intestine — (see Hernia.) Very remarkable cases, however, occur, and I think I cannot better illustrate this than by quoting again from Mr Field's valuable Records. "We there find — "May 3rd, 1832. — A bay carriage-horse, belonging to General H — , was suddenly seized with pain and profuse sweating, without disturbance of the pulse. " 4 o'clock, P.M. — Slight tremor of the hind quarters — ^lies down much, but is not very uneasy. " Half-past 7 o'clock P.M. — Pulse 54. "10 o'clock, P.M. — Pulse frequent and full — ^more rest- less. " ith. — Pulse 78, and wiry — ^much distention of the belly — ^membranes of their natural colour — ^has had no evacu- ation. "12 o'clock. — Pulse 78, and feeble, but distinct — tongue livid — conjunctiva injected — ^respiration quiet — ^belly much distended. The horse died in the afternoon. "Examination. — Two feet of the ileum, just before its termination in the csecum, strangulated by a band of mesen- T 274 INTUSSUSCEPTION. tery: it was much thickened, of a deep black colour, and easily lacerated. " It is worthy of remark that this horse never lay upon his back, did not roll, nor attempt to sit upon his hauncheSj as is usual in cases of entanglement; the tongue and membranes also retained their natural appearance until nearly the last." A singular instance is reported as follows by the same ob- server : — "On the 16th November, 1829, 1 was called in to see a brown gelding, belonging to Mr J — , which was taken ill on the previous day. I found the following symptoms present : — ^viz. pulse 78, and feeble — respiration accelerated — tongue white, but not offensive — conjunctiva of natural hue, and not injected — partial sweats — horse restless, and very feeble — the introduction of the hand per anum occasioned great efforts to force it back again: the animal died in about six hours. " Examination. — Stomach and small intestines healthy — ^ vUlous coat of jejunum injected — the whole of the colon be- yond its collateral attachment to the csecum had turned on its short axis, whereby the same had become strangulated, and was one dark mass, an immense effusion of serum and blood being deposited between the villous and muscular coats — the peritoneal and villous coats were quite dark — the intes- tine contained black-coloured faeces and fluid blood ; no other disease was present." Volvulus must necessarily be an incurable lesion. Intussusception. This most remarkable lesion consists in the passage of one portion of intestine into another. Both the small and large intestines are subject to it, though most frequently the small. INTUSSUSCEPTION. 275 It occurs in all animals, and though almost invariably fatal, there have been iastances of recovery, I have seen the ac- cident only in the horse and dog, but notwithstanding the fixed position of the intestine in the ox, intussusception has been seen in the large intestine even of this animaL Symptoms. — Severe coHc, with total obstruction, rejection of enemata, and the persistence of pain. I remember at- tending a case in London in 1851, in which the horse stood obstinately for two days sitting on his haunches — at all times a very ominous sign — and looking round most anxiously to his flanks. This case proved to be one of intussusception of the csecum. Mr Percivall says: — " The only distinguishing symptoms I have been able to detect in such cases as volvulus or intus- susception, are : instead of the animal lying down and rising continually, and pawing and stamping, and evincing all that restlessness he does in colic and enteritis, he generally manifests the greatest propensity to lie down; lying down and remain- ing down, only trying from time to time various new postures for relief, such as lying now upon his side, then roUing upon his back, and afterwards by stretching out his fore-legs, plac- ing himself upon his belly, and from thence raising himself upon his hind-quarters like a dog, groaning all the while and casting many a dolorous look backwards at his belly. He will seldom rise of his own accord; but you may rouse him up; no sooner, however, is he up than he begins turning himself round, with his nose poking down, looking about for a fresh place to lie down upon. His pulse is not quick, but soft, and nowise thready or contracted." Mr John Meld, who is very practical in aU his remarks, states the symptoms to be — "Pain; restlessness, in some cases approaching to madness, unrestrainable; wandering about; rolling on the back; 276 INTUSSUSCEPTION. sweating, in some cases profuse; crouching; sitting on the hind quarters, ahnost diagnostic; anxions countenance; fre- quent feeble pulse; belly at first of natural size, subsequently fuller, in some cases distended, dependant upon the locality of the intussusception; membranes in advanced stage, turgid, injected; mouth moist and clean, or furred and offensive; re- spiration accelerated; continued restlessness; rearing with fore-legs into manger, and standing upon that point d'appui; looking back from side to side; extremities cold; pain ab- sent, tranquil; sighing or snorting; death. The sighing may exist in some cases, and not in. others; and in some retching and vomiting." In the dog and pig, vomiting, constipation, and violent abdominal pain, which persist or exhaust and destroy the animal, are characteristic of the lesion. Pathological Anatomy of the Lesion. — The violent con- traction of the intestine at a particular spot is attended with an active peristaltic movement of the portion of the canal in front of the rigid constriction. Thus the con- stricted portion is overlapped, and when a small portion is passed over by the moving gut, the intussusception increases rapidly. Mr Turner, veterinary surgeon at Mon- treal, reported a case in 1849, in which no less than sixteen feet four inches of the ileum had become invaginated. Mr Dunsford records an instance in which eighteen inches of the ileum had passed into the csecum. When the lesion is observed in the large intestine, it is usually the caecum that is invaginated; in the colon the whole of this vast pouch is imbedded in the latter. "When the invagination occurs, the mesentery must be partially torn, but a large fold is always carried in or covered over, and the blood-vessels going to and from the invagi- nated portions are thus pressed upon and obstructed. The INTUSSUSCEPTION-. 277 venous circulation is at first chiefly retarded, and as a neces- sary result, the intruded gut becomes of a dark red, or black colour, tumefied, and even the seat of ulceration. Thus the invaginated intestine dies, and in the rare instances in which the peritoneal coat of the intestines adheres at the part where the invagination stops, the invaginated portion may slough and pass out so that the animal recovers. Such is an occa- sional though rare result in intussusception of the small intestine. With invagination of the caecum, as the colon is ample, and the blind pouch free, there is not the same tendency to compression of the blood-vessels, &c. Provided the ileo-coHc opening is not closed, the animal may live, and in proof of which I subjoin a drawing taken at Alfort, from a subject Fig. 103. destroyed in perfect health, and at a great age, for purposes of dissection. The condition of the intestine was such as to assure us that the lesion was not recent, and the animal had perfectly recovered from its efiects. Treatment. — It has been suggested that the abdomen should be opened and the invagination overcome by a man- 378 STEANGTJLATION OF THE INTESTINE. ual operation; but this is not safe or practicable in the horse. It has been done in the ox, and even in the human subject. If cases of colic are well treated at the commencement, in- tussusception is usually prevented. Strangulation of the Intestine by Pedunculated TuMOES, OE Hypeeteophied Appendices Epiploic^. Not a few cases have been recorded, in which the ileum has been found tied by the long neck or peduncle of a fatty tumour. The growth is always an enlarged epiploic appen- dix. I here reproduce a drawing from the first volume of the Veterinarian. 3 Mesenteric Chord. 1 Tumour, 2 Mesentery lining the interspaces. Kg. 104. The specimen was taken from a black horse upwards of twenty years of age, which was suddenly seized with an attack of 'gripes.' Mr Percivall, in describing the post-mortem examination, says: "Considerable serous efiPusion (about 3 or 4, gals.) into the abdominal cavity. About a foot in length of the ileuia formed. dupUcature, strangulated, by being included and tightly strictured within a fold of an elongated portion of mesentery, from which grew by a neck, a fatty tumour, as STEAJTGULATION OF THE INTESTINE. 279 large as tie egg of a goose, and weighing six ounces. The portion of mesentery forming the neck or root of the ttimonr was, I found, simply twisted around the ileum." Again I may quote from Mr Field's Notes, in which I find:— "On the 12th January, 1824, a bay gelding was brought to the hospital, with symptoms as foUow : — ^very frequent pulse — ^much uneasiness — sitting on the hind quarters — at times snorting severely — ^belly not full He was bled immediately, and a mixture composed of ol. lini Jsij, and ol. croton, gtt. ix, was given; the belly was stimulated, and clysters admin- istered. At night the pulse was scarcely perceptible — the mouth was discoloured — the extremities had become cold, and the belly was beginning to distend. He shortly after died. "Upon examination after death, twelve inches of the ileum were found strangulated by an elongation of the omentum, one of the epiploic glands being considerably enlarged, and forming part of the ligature; the entire portion of strangu- lated intestine was gangrenous; the intestines and peritoneum throughout were highly inflamed, and there was some blood eflFused into the belly." In 1829, Mr Goodwin, then Veterinary Surgeon to the King, contributed a very interesting paper, with an excellent sketch, illustrating the lesion under consideration. It is the most satisfactory illustration of the lesion yet pub- lished, and indicates how firmly the intestine may be tied by any structure which is long enough to wind round the con- volutions; a circumstance due as much to the weight of the tumour as to the length of the peduncle. The annexed engraving is a copy of the above-mentioned sketch: — 280 STKAITGULATION OF THE INTFSTINK a.— The strangulated knuckle of intestines which, from stricture and obstructed circulation, had become green and gangrenous, b. — ^Xhe continuation of the portions of the ileum, cc,d d. — Continuous portions of the same intestine (the ileum], also included within the stricture, e. — ^The chord which formed the stricture, /.—The fatt7 tumour hanging from the chord, which was In fact a hjtiertrophied epiploic appendix. INFLAMMATION OP THE INTESTINES. 281 It is not easy to offer a satisfactory explanation of the origin of such tumours. The loose folds of mesentery at the attached margia of the intestine of the horse, which often contain an excessive accumulation of fat, become hytertro- phied, and lead to the production of the growth, which drags the peritonaeum, and becomes pedunciilated. Enteritis. — Inflammation of the Intestines. As a general rule, when the intestinal tube is inflamed, the stomach is so also, and vice versa. The horse is not very subject to inflammation of the iutes- tiae except as due to irritant poisons. The outer or peritoneal coat often becomes inflamed in cases of abdominal wounds, (see Peritonitis), but it is the mucous lining and muscular coat that are first and chiefly involved in true enteritis. Prom the history I have given of colic, it will be observed that there are not suflScient grounds for the fears entertained when this disease is treated, lest it should terminate in in- testinal inflammation. In fact, the substances which have been reputed irritant by some, and likely to excite inflamrna- tory action, such as aloes and other purgatives, are really curative by producing a free secretion and relief of the con- gested vessels, whenever a cause is in operation giving rise to irritation and spasmodic pain in the bowels. But the poisons that I have mentioned as capable of inducing gastritis, are also those which induce inflammation of the intestine, and whether it be the pig poisoned with souse, or the horse and ox with arsenic, there are certain symptoms totally distinct from those of simple colic, which characterise the disease. I wish, therefore, to be distinctly understood as regarding enteritis a very rare condition in the many cases believed t'o be inflammatory, which are usually attacks of spasmodic colic. 282 INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINE. It is a morbid state, however, not unfrequently seen, especially as the result of poisoning in any of our domestic animals. Symptoms. — In the horse the very general belief is, that more than usually severe colic, with persistent as well as violent pains, and the animal rolling on its back, &c., are the indications of an iaflammatory attack, but these are certainly not usually the signs of true enteritis. In all our domestic animals symptoms of great constitutional irritation accom- pany and even precede any marked abdominal pain in enteritis. A small, frequent, hard pulse, rather strong in the early stages of the disease, but irregular and very iudis- tiact in the latter, with irregular temperature of the body's surface, indicated by cold ears and extremities, &c., are amongst the leading general symptoms. The visible mucous membranes are deeply congested, appe- tite lost, but thirst often considerable; there is usually con- stipation, though in many cases due to irritant poisoning, diarrhoea, and tenesmus are leading signs. The urine is scanty and high coloured. Colicky symptoms, not necessarily very severe, are observed, and there is great tenderness indi- cated in pressing the abdominal parietes. The animal's expression betokens persistent suffering, and danger of a fatal termination; the loins are rigid, belly tucked up, skin dry and tight on the surface of the body; the animal becomes listless, prostrate, lies down, and turns its eyes anxiously towards the flanks, and though it may attempt to rise, strength fails, and involuntary and apparently convul- sive movements of the limbs are the last indications of a fast- fleeting life. The disease persists from twenty-four hours to a week, according to the severity of the attack. In favourable cases, about the third or fourth day, the free evacuation of urine, normal moisture of skin, regular defecation and com- parative absence from pain, indicate the convalescent stage. INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINE. 283 In cattle, the grinding of teeth, hot and dry mouth, ten- dency to tympanitis, and tenderness of the abdomen, with ob- stinate constipation in some cases, or very free and trouble- some diarrhoea in others, constitute the leading features of the disorder. In the pig there is great dulness, grunting, and other signs of uneasiness, besides a troublesome retching, and in the early stages a morbid appetite, which soon subsides. Ulcer- ation of the intestines is not an unfrequent result of enteritis in this animal. In the dog it is said that the signs of enteritis approach those of the dumb or paralytic form of rabies, but there are more severe symptoms of fever: — hot and dry nose, sharp and very frequent pulse, cold Hmbs, a dry skin, and arched back; tenderness over the region of the belly; and, as in all other animals, there is either obstinate costiveness or diarr- hoea, according to the cause of the attack. Post-mortem appearances. — These are unmistakeable, and it is no slight redness or turgescence of the large vessels, such as we find in fatal cases of simple colic, that may be regarded as characteristic cadaveric lesions of enteritis. The mucous coat is tumefied, of a very dark red colour, generally over a large extent of surface. The redness is first observed on the peritoneum, and, indeed, all the coats are involved, as indi- cated by the amount of exudation in their substance. I have seen, in a portion of intestine transmitted to me by a practi- tioner, the thickening attain nearly half-an-inch. I have seen not unfrequently a number of small ulcers in the small intes- tine of the dog, and the contents of the first portion of the canal especially of dark coffee colour, or tinged red, from blood extravasation. Treatment. — Any irritant .that may be present in the bowels must be removed by a purgative. In the horse, espe- 284 ENTERITIS EXUDATIVA. cially, no reliance is to be placed on the calomel and opinm treatment in these cases. Copious draughts of linseed tea and enemata must follow a brisk aloetic purge. Should the purge be decidedly uncalled for by the symptoms, copi- ous diluents must be had recourse to, and great benefit may be derived from counter-irritants, or hot fomentations to the abdomen. In small animals, a warm bath, injections, and demulcents, such as mucilage or linseed tea, may be freely employed. In the event of poisoning, special antidotes have to be pre- scribed. Enteritis Exudativa. — EnUrite Couenneuseov the French — Croupartige Darmentzimdung op the Germans. Under this name may be described a form of enteritis not uncommon amongst cattle, and which is characterized by the production of false membranes in the small intestine. It is sometimes acute, and at others chronic, commencing with symptoms similar to those of ordinary coUc. Within a few days from the first symptoms, there is diarrhoea, and the fluid fcEtid faeces contain shreds of lymph varying in length and thickness, but attaining sometimes the enormous dimension of twenty or thirty feet, and being often mistaken for worms. Usually, after the discharge of these membranes, the animals improve. Delafond* describes the symptoms as those of irritative fever, associated with sHght colicky symptoms, which last for twelve or fifteen hours. The mouth is hot, muzzle dry, conjunctiva injected, respiration short and con- vulsive; pulse small, frequent, and soft; the vertebral column is very sensitive; belly tense, tender, and often tympanitic; * Beceuil de Mddecim VMrinaire, 1842, page 217. ENTERITIS EXUDATIVA. 285 the faeces at first hard and dry, become liquid and glary. These symptoms always increase in intensity until the fourth or fifth day, and so far the exudative enteritis differs in no respect from the simple inflammation of the intestine, but from the fifth to the sixth day, and rarely beyond the eighth in the exudative form, greyish false membranes are expelled, as already described. Eecovery is generally prompt, after such expulsion. Professor Lassaigne examined these membranes, and found that they were formed of a fibrino-albuminous matter, with mucous and alkaline or earthy salts. The cases of ' moulten grease ' described by old authors, as observed in the horse and ox, are evidently cases of this singular affection. Indeed, I have seen shreds of loose, false membrane, discharged by the horse in cases of acute diarrhoea, and portions of such membrane have always been regarded as worms. Treatment consists in an aloetic purge, or the use of sul- phate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, or nitre, in doses of from 4 to 8 oz., repeated twice daUy if the first .two, or doses of one ounce of the last, at similar periods. Injections and sloppy gruel relieve and hasten convalescence. Peritonitis. This disease consists in inflammation of the serous mem- brane which lines the cavity of the belly, and covers the organs contained within the latter. Causes. — It is usually produced by wounds, and the greatest difference exists amongst our domestic animals as to the tendency to inflammation of the peritoneum. It is a very common cause of death from castration in the horse, and if any abdominal wound is inflicted in this animal, either in the performance of a surgical operation or by accident, death 286 PEEITONITIS. usually results in the course of four or five days. The ox and sheep are the least susceptible to it, and the pig and dog can also be exposed to the risk of abdominal opera- tions more freely than the horse. As an idiopathic affection it is found in an acute and a chronic form. The peritoneum is iavolved in inflammation when any of the abdominal organs are affected with this disease, and sometimes inde- pendently. Symptoms. — Tremors occasionally confined to the hind legs; appetite lost, though thirst sometimes great; pulse very frequent, hard, and wiry; respiration laboured and thoracic ; nostrils dilated, with anxious expression of countenance ; the animal looks round to its flank, and evinces colicky pains by pawing, crouching, &c. There is usually constipation, scanty discharge of urine. In most cases of traumatic peritonitis, the animal lies down about the third day, looks anxiously round to its flank, and dies usually within forty-eight hours from the time it first stretched itself on its side. I have seen these symptoms with abscess of the cord, in. a colt after castration, and when I had amputated the cord above the seat of the abscess, the colt rose and appeared relieved, but sank a few hours after, the whole peritoneum being involved m inflammation. Results. — Adhesion and sometimes effusion; more com- monly death occurs when false membranes are found coating and fixing the intestine. Treatment. — Purgatives, hot fomentations to the belly; Percival suggests a blister to the belly. Nitre may be given in the water the animal is allowed to drink. Injections should be perseveringly employed. Calomel and opium, aconite and other reputed antiphlogistics, have their advo- cates. dysentery, 287 Dysbnteey — Colitis — Bloody Flux. A very dangerous form of inflammation of the mucous membrane of tlie intestine, chiefly of the large, and attended with ulceration and haemorrhage, receives the name of dysen- tery. It is a disease far more commonly seen in the ox than in the horse, and frequently observed in omnivorous and carnivorous animals. It is closely aUied to severe forms of diarrhcEa, though instances of the latter, such as the diarrhoea of suckling animals, are improperly termed dysen- tery, and believed to depend on inflammatory action. Dysen- tery is not unfrequently epizootic in difierent parts of the world, and may constitute one of the principal complications in a contagious fever, such as the steppe disease or contagious typhoid. In Great Britain it is chiefly seen as a sporadic afiecting cows ia iU-ventUated byres, &c. Dysentery is observed in an acute and chronic form. Young and vigorous animals are most frequently affected with the first, and old worn-out animals with the last. The causes differ in the two cases, and active irritants or a blood poison produce the acute form, whereas the chronic is brought about by circumstances which lower the system or interfere with the function of some important emunctory, such as the skin or lungs. Bad food and exposure are powerful causes co-operating with others to induce this disorder. With re^ gard to the horse, Mr PercivaH says that the ordinary cause of dysentery is long sojourn in low, wet, marshy pastures, and that he once received a horse from Plumstead Marshes to treat, who was dysenteric, hidebound, lousy, and in a state of great debUity. I have witnessed this disease in the dog, especially in young animals tied to a dog kennel in some exposed situation, to watch a garden or house. In these cases there are general 288 DYSENTEEY. symptoms of fever, and foetid black evacuations occur fre- quently, and are accompanied or succeeded by much haemorr- hage. There are griping pains, tucked-up appearance of the belly, and the animal's strength fails rapidly. I have observed that such cases are often fatal, and at all times diffi- cult to treat. The abuse of tartar emetic, and exposure of animals after severe treatment with this drug, are also causes of dangerous forms of dysentery in the dog. In the ox we find the symptoms as follows : — The acute form is attended with severe symptoms of general disturbance, often ushered in by shivering fits. The temperature of the body is very variable; the animal becomes hidebound and its coat stares ; the back becomes slightly arched, and the loins are sensitive. The eyes are dull and occasionally the seat of discharge. The mouth is clammy, and the tongue furred and dirty-looking. The animal yawns and grunts, and at short intervals discharges a variable quantity of thin watery excrement and mucus, often tinged with blood. The strain- ing is generally violent and distressing. The animal draws its limbs together, arches its back, extends its tail, and the anus appears sore and red. The urine discharged is often of a dark red colour. The amount of abdominal pain varies considerably; sometimes there is severe colic, and at others general tenderness. Gaseous distention of the paunch not uncommonly complicates the disease. The constitutional symptoms are commonly those of a low typhoid disease. The animal is dull, emaciated, and suffers from thirst. An aphthous eruption in the mouth indicates the condition of the intestinal surface, where, in some cases, there are abscesses, and in others there is severe ulceration, whence blood is discharged. Unless by judicious treatment the symptoms are made to subside, they increase in severity, and in a fortnight from the commencement of the disease the DYSENTERY. 289 iinimal dies. If the chronic type of the disease declares itself, the animal may linger on for a prolonged and inde- finite period of time. In the chronic cases the general symptoms are very severe, and faithfully enough pourtrayed by Youatt, who says: "The beast is sadly wasted — vermia accumulate on him — his teeth become loose — swellings appear under the jaw, and he dies from absolute exhaustion; or the dejections gradually change their character — blood mingles with the mucus — ^purulent matter succeeds to that — it is almost insupportably fetid — it is discharged involuntarily — gangrenous ulcers about the anus sometimes tell of the process that is going on within;' and, at length, the eyes grow dim and sink ia their orbits, the body is covered with cold perspiration, and the animal dies. "In some cases the emaciation is frightful; the skin cleaves to the bones, and the animal has become a living skeleton; in others there have been swellings about the joints, spreading over the legs generally, occasionally ulcer- ated; and in all, the leading colour of the membranes, the rapid loss of strength, the stench of the excrement, and the unpleasant odour arising from the animal itself, announce the approach of death." The post-mortem appearances of dysentery are: — Eeady removal of the epithelium over the three first stomachs, which are usually pretty empty; the third may contain some solid food. The fourth stomach is the seat of reddish dis- coloration of its mucous membrane, which is occasionally (Edematous, and at others the seat of exudation of lymph, which has been said to give to it the appearance of jelly. The small intestine, distended by fluid material, is occasion- ally injected, but often presenting no abnormal appearance. The ccecum, colon, and rectum are obviously inflamed. The 290 DYSENTEEY. mucous membrane red with abrasions or ulcerations, vary- ing in extent, and sometimes perforating tbe intestine, In some cases abscesses exist in tlie submucous tissue. Eccby- moses, and even spots where sloughing is going on, are ap- parent in the large intestine. Treatment. — In some acute cases of dysentery, advantage is said to have been derived from blood-letting. Greater re- liance is to be placed ia the use of mild aperients and emol- lient clysters. Calomel and opium, of each a scruple, given thrice daily for one or two days, has been attended with great benefit. The severe inflammatory symptoms having subsided, styptic and stimulating remedies, which act topically on the mucous membrane of the intestine, can be pre- scribed. Acetate of zinc, acetate of lead, and turpentine, aU given in small doses rather frequently, and in large quanti- ties of thin gruel and decoction of linseed, prove of service. Some veterinarians have obtained benefit from employing drachm doses of sulphate of copper. Alkalies and opium have been combined as follows for cases of dysentery in the cow: — Solution of potash . . . . 1 oz. Ipecacuanha wine . . . . 1 oz. Powdered opium . . . , 1 dr. Tincture of cantharides , . . J oz. Mix and give in a quart of warm gruel Hertwig advise the administration of nitrate of silver ia doses of eight or ten grains for the horse or ox, which may be given in about ten ounces of cold boiled water. Chloride of Hme, a drachm to the quart of water, proves beneficial; or the following prescription: — Chlorinated lime . , , , 2 dr. Tincture of arnica , , , , 2 dr. Nitric ether . . . , , X oz, ENZOOTIC DYSENTEEY. 291 This may be repeated twice or thrice daUy, being given m gruel. Chalk, alone or combined with opium, has been much used, and with advantage when the acute symptoms are subdued. Other astringents, such as Ume and catechu, have been em- ployed; but, as a general rule, great care should be taken not to load the intestine with many medicines which are apt to irritate. Judicious diet is of great service in assistiag an animal towards convalescence. Enzootic Dysenteey. — ^Wood Evil. — Mooe III. — Mel^na. — The 'Daen' of Abeedeenshiee. Erom the peculiar discoloration of the urine, this disease has been regarded by some as chieily implicating the kidneys, but it wUl be found ia all well-marked instances that the bowels are primarily and principally affected. It is a dis- order very widely difPused over Europe, and occurring on pastures, moors, or commons adjacent to woodland. The food these pastures afford may be rich or poor, but it always contains astringent plants in abundance, and at the period when the disease is most rife, viz., in the spring or early in the summer season, young shoots of oak or allied plants are greedily devoured, and produce the so-called wood evil. It is not, as I have elsewhere shown, due to any special poison- ous plant, such as Lolium temulentum, or Anemone nemorosa, but to the astringent principles of many of the trees, &c., found in our woods. I have known cases to occur amongst young cattle in the spring, who greedily devoured the leaves of some oak trees that were felled adjoining a pasture on which the malady had never been seen. Symptoms. — The animals become hidebound, costive, can- not urinate freely, secretion of milk stopped, and rumination 292 ENZOOTIC DYSENTEEY. is soon suspended. With loss of, or a morbid appetite, severe symptoms soon usher in, and a frequent hard pulse, which soon becomes weak, accelerated breathing, hot and dry mouth, yeUowish-red colour of visible mucous membranes, great thirst, dulness and colicky pains, are characteristic of the disorder. The urine acquires a dark colour, and has a strong ammoniacal odour, it is tinged with blood, and any faeces that are evacuated are also coated with mucus and blood. Diarrhoea soon sets in as in ordinary cases of dysentery, with very offensive excrement, deeply tinged with blood. The animals moan, grind their teeth, and are stiff, with arched back though sensitive loins. Tympanitis, emaciation, coldness of the extremities, are all very manifest as death approaches. A fatal termination occurs usually about the second week, but in young well-fed cattle often much sooner. A return to health in fortunate cases is characterized by the gradual disappearance of all the symptoms, and a reg-ular action of the bowels. Special cases are characterized by the greater prominence of some symptoms, and occasionally the discharge of blood with the faeces is very abundant. Thus, in the Veterinarian for 1866, a gentleman, signing himself ' Caustic,' describes, under the head 'Melsena or Enterorrhcea in Cows,' some marked cases of moor ill or enzootic dysentery which occurred on a farm where the disease had been prevalent for three years, and the cows which 'Caustic' attended had been at grass about three weeks upon a peaty and, in some parts, badly drained field, and in the month of May. The following is the report of Case 1. The author says: — " I was requested to attend a cow that had calved about three weeks. She had Kved upon grass previous to the time of calving, was in fair condition, and quite well the previous evening. The following morning she gave but little milk ENZOOTIC DYSENTERY. 293 and was purging. Upon my arrival, I found ste had an ex- ceedingly anxious countenance; the ears and horns were cold; the heart could be heard beating several yards off; the pulse at the jaw was exceedingly weak, numbering in the minute 74; the coat staring; the back arched; the skin tinged yellow; the rumen and omasum full. She voided frequently an immense quantity of liquid and coagulated blood, mixed with feculent matter of a dark brown colour; indications of vomiting showed themselves, and after several attempts, she succeeded in ejecting from the mouth matter similar to that passed per anum. " In such a case as this, it was but too evident that what was to be done was to be done quickly; and having marked out my course, I immediately proceeded to put it into effect, which was first to throw several bucketfuls of cold water over her, then to cover her up with horse-rugs, and give the fol- lowing draught : ]^ 01. Lini, Ojss; Pulv. Opii, 3ij ; Hydrargyri Chlorid., 3ss; Pulv. Zingiberis, 3ij; OL Juniperi, 3iij. Misce. This was followed in an hour and a half after, by — Lini Oleum, Ojss, cum Terebiathinte Oleum, Jiv; and small quantities of the latter were ordered to be adminis- tered several times during the day. " At night I found her much better. A little dark, soft, offensive dung was being passed occasionally. After this, small doses of diffasible stimulants, combined with vegetable tonics, and a strict attention to diet, brought about a state of perfect convalescence in about nine days. This cow I had treated some months before for pleuro-pneumonia epizootica." In the second case " the ears, horns, pulse, &c., were in the 294 ENZOOTIC DYSENTEEY. same condition as the first ease. The action of the heart was so violent as to be heard at some distance, and at every beat it seemed to shake the whole frame. She purged an immense quantity of dark liquid, raiKed with coagulated blood, &c., but she did not vomit." This cow died. Of Case 3 ' Caustic ' says : " I was requested to see a cow belonging to my father; a remarkably large, good framed milking cow, five years old. She appeared well the previous evening; had been turned out to grass in the day time, and was tied up at night, being allowed good hay. I found her lying down, and I could scarcely get her to stand up for a moment. The ears and horns were cold; the pulse weak, 74 in number; the beat of the heart very loud; the first and third stomachs full and hard. She had not vomited, but had evacuated, with some difiiculty, a little dark-coloured pitchy matter. I at once gave no hope of recovery, but being persuaded to try what I could do, I gave her a large dose of linseed oil with the oil of croton, combining a gentle stimulant, but she died five hours after I first saw her." Post-mortem appearances. — The epithelium of the three first stomachs is readily detached, and the mucous membrane throughout the stomach and intestinal canal is of a dark red colour, infiltrated, and the seat of erosion. It is, however, in the large intestine that there are usually most marked signs of inflammation, ecchymoses, ulcers, &c. Eeferring to the cadaveric lesions which occurred in Case 3, above-mentioned, ' Caustic ' says : — " The rumen and omasum I found filled to repletion with food. The true stomach, and the whole of the intestines contained an immense quantity of matter similar to that I have before mentioned; and, strange and incredible as it may appear to those who have never witnessed it, I could pull from the intestines several feet of it without its breaking. DIAEEHCEA, 295 The mucous membrane was mucli inflamed, and had many dark patches resembling ulcers upon it, varying from the size of a sixpence to a crown piece. The liver was pale, and softened in texture." Treatment. — ^A brisk purge is to be administered in the early stage. Injection of warm water must also be perse- vered with, and the animal must be allowed to drink as much as it wishes. The treatment by turpentine has many advo-- cates. Saline or oleaginous purgatives have to be repeated two or three times in the majority of cases, and some advo- cate the solution of aloes, given to an adult ox or cow, in doses of seven or eight ounces. The hot-air bath and free ablution with cold water are to be recommended in this disease. If diarrhoea continues, the same treatment must bo carried out as in common dysentery.. DiAEEHCEA. This is usually a symptom or consequence of disease rather than in itself a malady, and consists ia the frequent discharge of liquid excrement vdthout bleeding. Causes. — There are three distiQct kinds of diarrhoea. The first variety is dependent on some irritant which excites se- cretion, and the peristaltic movement of the intestine; the second is due to a blood-poison which nature attempts to eliminate by the intestinal mucous surface; and thirdly, there are cases of diarrhoea from derangement of the stomach, liver, and pancreas. In the horse we find improper food, such as boiled roots and bran, potatoes, damp grass, and other similar causes, coupled with over-work and a special predisposition, produce the first form of diarrhoea. The second variety is observed in low types of influenza and other fevers ; whereas the third is symptomatic of liver disorder. 296 DIAEEHCEA. Cattle are very subject to diarrhoea when placed on young soft pastures, and with sudden changes of diet. It is a sym- tom in epizootic diseases, such as pleuro-pneumonia and con- tagious typhoid, whereas it is seen in young animals of all kinds, when a dyspeptic state is induced from an artificial system of rearing, and the milk, unacted on by the gastric juice, passes into the intestine, and produces an active peris- taltic movement and its expulsion. Symptoms. — ^Frequent liquid evacuations, with discharge of flatus, considerable straining, scanty urinary secretion, im- paired appetite, and occasional appearance of coKcky sym- toms. When an irritant is operating locally, the material which produces the disorder is usually to be detected in the excrement. If the stomach is inactive, aUmentary matters, such as milk, pass unchanged : hence the name ' white scour' for diarrhoea in calves and lambs. There is always great foetor, and a black condition of the fseces in blood diseases which give rise to diarrhoea. Sometimes preparations of iron, given with other astringents, occasion a peculiar form of diarr- hoea, especially if a purgative is incautiously given to the animal receiving ferruginous tonics. The faeces are per- fectly black, like ink, and very fetid. Such attacks are some- times not easily checked. Should the pancreas not act, fatty matters are found in excess in the excrement. Post-mortem appearances. — In the diarrhoea of young animals which proves so destructive amongst calves, and has been improperly designated gastro-enteritis and dysentery, there is no appearance of inflammation, and in the many cases I have examined, there were usually a peculiar pallor or indications of checked function in the fourth stomach and intestines. It is the mass of half-curdled milk in these organs, and the emaciated appearance of the tissues, which may be regarded as characteristic of diarrhoea in suck- DIAEEHCEA. 297 ling quadrupeds. I have never seen thickening or exuda- tions. In adult animals the cadaveric lesions vary according to the immediate cause of the frequent alvine evacuations. Ramified redness or signs of determination of blood may be detected whenever an irritant operates locally, but this is often not more than the turgid condition of the intestinal mucous membrane when in active secretion. Disease of the Kver, or of other parts of the digestive apparatus, may exist, as well as fluid and scanty contents in the intestine. Treatment — In all animals great advantage is experienced from the employment of warm water injections. It is true that purgative and medicated injections are frequently called for, but as a bland and useful aid to almost any kind of treatment, I must, in the first place, refer to warm water clysters. Should any irritant be keeping up the diarrhoea, it should be expelled by means of purgatives, diminishing the food, and allowing the animal little to drink and little exercise. Purgatives must not be too much used in this complaint, and when the irritant substances supposed to exist in the bowels must have been expelled from the free action of a cathartic, it may be necessary to resort to the very opposite treatment of opiates and astringents. In cattle, cases of simple diarrhoea are sometimes very difiicult to treat, and unless the disease is simply due to a slight cause, such as a change of pasture, great benefit ap- pears to have been derived, especially in the early stages of the disorder, from giving the following medicine: — ■ Calomel 1 dr. Opium 1 dr. In thick gruel, and repeated after forty-eight hours if the looseness is not checked 298 DIAEKHCEA, In the horse we prefer a mild dose of ca.pe aloes, but not to be repeated except at long intervals. A host of astringent preparations have been suggested. I here-- subjoin a few prescriptions for diarrhoea in the different domestic ani- mals. The following is a useful astringent for general purposes : — Prepared chalk . . . . 1| oz. Catechu . 2 dr. Powdered opium . idr. Powdered gentian . . 2 dr. Water . 10 oz. is may be given in ale or grueL As a tonic astringent draught in cases of debility, and when the diarrhoea seems to be due to the animal's weakness, either of the following formulae may be employed for the horse or ox : — Tannic acid | dr. Powdered gentian . . . . 1 oz. Water . . . . . . 4 oz. To be given in ale or gruel; or Powdered angustura bark . . 1| oz. Sulphuric acid 1 ^ oz. Water 24 oz. A wine-glassful of the above given three or four times daily in water. Like purgatives, astringents may do harm if used in excess, and this I especially find in the diarrhoea of suck- lipg animals. In these great benefit is derived from change of diet, or giving them a little milk frequently, and at the same time giving a tablespoonful of the common rennet such as is used in making cheese. The white of one egg in water or milk has a very desirable effect. DIAEEHCEA. 299 There are cases of chronic diarrhcea in horses and cattle that are benefited hy mineral astringents, such as acetate of zinc or sulphate of copper. The latter is a very favourite remedy with some practitioners. When the fseces are very fetid, and the prostration very great, the following prepara- tion may be tried: — Chlorinated lime . . . , 2 dr. Tincture of arnica . . . 2 dr. Nitric ether 1 oz. This may be given in cold water twice or thrice daily. Alum whey is a very useful preparation, especially for small and weakly animals. It is prepared by boiling together for ten minutes half an ounce of alum and two quarts of milk; when strained a very useful agent is obtained, and may be given twice daily. Starch emulsion forms a very good material for clysters in diarrhcea, and thin wheaten flour gruel may be allowed to horses and cattle to drink. Impeefoeate Anus. This is a congenital malformation which is occasionally met with in all our domestic animals. I have seen a case ia a bitch in which the anus appeared to be well formed, but closed by a continuous skin, and the faeces passed through the vagina. There was a congenital recto-vaginal fistula. More fre- quently a veterinary surgeon meets with cases in foals and calves in which symptoms of colic are very severe. On attempting to give injections, it is found that the fluid will not pass up, and at a short distance from the anus the rectum forms a pouch, and is not continuous with the alimentary canaL In other instances, the anus is closed, and the colon terminates in a cul-de-sac, there being no rectum at alL All these cases prove incurable, and are speedily fatal 300 fistula in ano, Fistula in Aso. This troublesome affection has been only witnessed in the horse and ox. There are the so-called false fistulas in ano, depending on disease of the pelvic bones; and the true fistula, which consists in a sinus formed beneath the anus on the side of the rectum, and in some instances opening into the latter; whereas in others it is blind, or terminating abruptly at the coats of the intestines. When there is a free opening from the rectum to the external surface the fistula is said to be complete, and when there is but one opening, and that cutaneous, the fistula is said to be a blind external one ; whereas, in a few instances, though very rare in the lower animals, a blind internal fistula exists, that is to say, there is only an opening in the intestine communicating with the sinus. The false fistulee in ano have always an external opening, and they may be detected by probing, when the grating of diseased bone is perceived. The disease commences by the formation of an abscess in the angle between the rectum and ischium, and is usually due to injury. I have seen an instance in which the abscess ex- tended along the side of the pelvis and destroyed the animal by pressure on the intestiae, which induced obstruction. The pus descended through the inguinal ring, and produced inflammation on the inner surface of the thigh. I was called to this horse when too late to afford any relief, and after death about a gallon of pus was removed from the diffuse cold abscess. But in ordinary cases the abscess points, and discharges its contents through an opening close to the sphincter; and whereas the animal is very stiff during the development of the abscess, after it has burst the chief incon- venience arises from pains in the act of evacuating faeces, and at the same time the smearing of the tail and hind quarters DILATATION OF THE EECTTJM. 301 Tvith pus. A probe is necessary, as well as manual explora- tion of the rectum, to determine the nature of the fistula. Treatment. — The only treatment consists in using the knife freely, dividing the sphincter ani, and then drawing the lips of the wound together. In the dog, especially, laxatives should be frequently administered whilst the animal is under treatment. Dilatation op the Rectum. I have witnessed in dogs subject to constipation, the accumulation of fseces in a dilated rectum to such an extent that all natural efforts failed to expel them. In the second yolume of the Edinburgh Veterinary Review, at page 412, the following will be found: — "Adam observed in a six-year- old poodle and in an eight-year-old pointer, a very peculiar affection of the rectum. The appearances consisted in the dog attempting to void fteces, and straining violently, but without effect. The anus was observed protruded, and form- ing a round, hard swelling, and on examining the rectum with the oiled finger, a solid portion of excrement was found in it, which, in the one dog was fixed in a dilatation above, and in another below, the anus. From the existence of these pouches, faeces accumulated, grew hard, induced tenesmus, and the passage of other feculent matter was totally pre- vented. The treatment consists in allowing only soft food, no bones, giving oil occasionally, and removing the solid excrement by clysters." As the abnormal dilatation favours the accumulation of excrement, I would suggest the use of astringents locally to diminish or overcome the deformity. Peolapsus Ani — Exania. This accident occurs in all domestic animals, and is seen, 302 PEOLAPSUS ANI, as Hertwig says, in three forms: — ^Istly, tlie rectum protrudes through the sphincter, and hangs behind the anus; 2ndly, the anus drops forward, and there is eversion of its mucous membrane; 3rdly, there may be only a portion of mucous membrance on one side protruding. In the first form there is a decided eversion, and a red swol- len intestine is observed to hang through the anus to the extent of an inch, five or six inches, or even a foot and a- half. There is great difiiculty in replacing it, or pushing the finger through the opening. In the second form the eversion is deeper; and in the third, there is a chance of confusion with rectal polypi. Causes. — Violent straining, especially in diarrhoea, tym- panitis, or v/hen worms produce great irritation. Prolapsus ani is not uncommon in cases of difficult labour, and is some- times the result of back-raking, an operation which I am •glad to have an opportunity of condemning. It is at beet useless, and always dangerous. Exploration of the pelvic organs per rectum may be necessary, but the evacuation of the rectum by the hand is at all times superseded by injec- tions. Treatment. — The cause of the prolapsus must be overcome, whether it be diarrhoea, a foetus in utero, or other removable agent. The rectum is replaced by the hand, and usually a strong dose of opium must be given to allay irritation. In cattle, any straining may be stopped by squeezing the back, or placing a surcingle round the body. Locally, warm water injections, and in some cases, injections of lead and opium lotion. Returning the rectum is not always easy, and when the reduction has been effected the organ again protrudes. The local application of ice or an astringent wash, and the ap- plication of a truss, may be of some service. There are cases hemorrhoids; — piles. .303 in wliich the protruded intestine has to be' removed by freely amputating with the knife, and sewing the intestine to the margin of the anus by metallic sutures. Tubes and trusses have been made for the lower animals, but they are not readily applied, or of much practical utility when they can be placed conveniently. Hemoeehoids. — Piles. Most of our domestic animals are occasionally subject to tumours at the verge of the anus, and which consist in abnor- mal distention of the rectal or hemorrhoidal veins, or in a morbid development of skin or mucous membrane. Symptoms. — In cattle, loss of appetite, suspended rumina- tion, dulness, with stiffness of the hind extremities, and dis- inclination to move the hind limbs, both when standing or lying, are amongst the most marked signs of troublesome hemorrhoids. The tail is stiff and dry; fseces, tinged with blood, are found. The pulse is hard and full, secretion of mUk checked, mouth hot, conjunctiva reddened, muzzle dry, anxious look and sunken eyes. The extremities and ears are cold, and the animal paws, yawns, and moans. Tumours of the mucous membrane are f«lt within the anus, which con- tain venous blood, and, on withdrawing the hand, it is found covered with blood. If the tumors are broken, coagula may be carried out with the hand, and the hemorrhoids dis- appear in ten or twelve hours, or severe symptoms occasion- ally result, with inflammation of the rectum, &c. A similar condition has been observed in sheep. In the dog, hemorrhoids may be either within or outside the sphincter. They are very troublesome, but do not give rise to any febrile disturbance, and are connected with obsti- nate constipation. Several veterinarians have recorded cases of hemorrhoids 304 HEENIA. in the horse. Messrs Collins of the 16th Lancers* and WeUs of Norwich-f- have recorded cases. A typical instance was contributed by Mr HoUoway to the Veterinarian for 1856. The tumours were vascular, and discharged blood when the hardened excrement was voided with violent efforts. Treatment consists in purgatives, cold M^ater clysters, the use of food which will favour a relaxed state of the bowels, and opium suppositories. Heenia. By hernia is meant the protrusion of any organ through an opening, whether natural or artificial. It is not necessary that the protruding viscus should find its way into, or form for itself a cavity, as in the case of hernia iridis, or protru- sion of iris through the cornea. We commonly apply the term hernia to ruptures or displacements of portions of the intestinal tube, omentum, or other abdominal organ. Hernise are classified according to their position, as we shall see in describing the various kinds; but they are also distinguished into reducible and irreducible, and this depends on the circumstance whether the organ is capable of being replaced into its natural cavity or not. Both reducible and irreducible hernise are apt to become strangulated, that is to say, the protruding organ may be constricted at the opening through which it has passed. Such strangulation is attended with great danger and very urgent symptoms, and may depend on three causes: firstly, Changes in the condition of the opening through which the organ passes; secondly, Descent of an additional portion of intestine or omentum into the hernial sac ; and, thirdly. Change in the condition of the hernial contents, such as accumulation of faeces, con- gestion, &c. * Veterinaricm, 1849. t Ibid., 1851. UMBILICAL HEENIA. — ^EXOMPHALOS. 305 So long as a hernia is not strangulated, the animal is but slightly inconvenienced by it, and internal ruptures are not recognised until producing obstruction to the course of the intestinal contents. Superficial herniee are readily diagnosed by the character of the swelling, and the anatomical peculi- arities of the lesion. IjMBrLICAL HbENIA. — EXOMPHALOS. This is not unfrequently congenital, and if not seen on the animal at birth, it usually occurs in the early periods of life, from the circumstance that the navel closes efiectuaUy in adult animals. Hertwig has seen it, however, in horses eight, ten, or twelve years old. It is most rarely seen in sheep and pigs, and consists in the protrusion of omentum or intestiae through the umbilicus. Symptoms. — It is the presence of a fluctuating tumour at the navel, varying much in size, and seen from the time of birth, or shortly after, that indicates exomphalos. We rarely have this hernia strangulated. Treatment. — In some fortunate instances, the intestine is drawn into the abdomen as the animal grows, the mesentery being proportionately shorter in the adult as compared with the young animal. The only surgical interference of ser- vice consists in appropriate bandages, with a compress for the navel in very young animals, and, in severe cases of old standing, a pair of wooden clams must be placed tightly over the skin forming the hernial sac, whilst the animal is on its back, and the hernia is thoroughly reduced. A tight ligature round the neck of the hernial sac is often efiectuaL Inguinai Heenia (Fig. 106.) In stallions, and in young animals far more frequently than old, a fold of intestine passes into the inguinal canal, through S06 INGUINAL HEKNU. Fig. 106.— (GiRAED.) iNGniHAL Hebhia.— a a, portion of the colon conKnuous with i h, which is fixed in the inguinal canal ; c c is the neck of the peritoneal sheath which is enlai'ged from the passage into it of the intestine ; d d, tumefied portion pf the spermatic cord. INGTHNAL HEENIA. 307 which the spermatic duct passes from the testicle into th€ pelvis. It is an accident which continental veterinarians and practitioners in India meet with more frequently than we do in Great Britain, from the fact that stallions are not often used for working purposes ia this country. Symptoms. — Whenever a stallion is affected with symptoms of intestiaal obstruction and severe colic, already noticed in describing the latter affection, it is the duty of the veterinarj surgeon to cause a discharge of contents of the rectum by ar injection, and then pass his hand into the intestine and feel the internal abdominal ring. The imprisoned intestine wUl easily be felt, should inguinal hernia exist. Eetraction oi the testicle on the side affected, cold sweats about the scrotum and thighs, looking anxiously round to the flank on the side affected, are aU symptoms which aid ia diagnosis. Treatment. — ^By manipulation the incarcerated intestine is pushed back, and if not, the inguinal canal has to be opened by a small incision, and the reduction of the hernia affected through it, SCEOTAl HeENIA, The inguinal canal soon becomes dilated in young animals, when intestine or omentum has passed into it. The scrotum then becomes the hernial sac, a circumstance which is not possible in man, from the complete separation between the peritoneal cavity and tunica vaginalis. As the two serous membranes remain continuous in the lower animals through- out the whole lifetime, part of the abdominal contents may pass into the cavity containing the testicle. Symptoms. — In many cases, and especially in colts, calves, young pigs, &c., it is only when they are to be castrated that the lesion is discovered. The covered operation of castration has then to be performed. Fig. 107 shows the anatomical 308 SCEOTAl HEENIA. disposition of the parts. The hernia, especially in adult animals, may become strangulated from a violent strain, &c. Symptoms of severe colic and obstruction are noticed, as in cases of volvulus. The enlarged scrotum at once indicates the nature of the cause of suffering in these cases. Fig. 107.— (GiR,VED.) SOBOTAi, Hebkia, showing at o o the fold of Intestine In the acrotnm ; c c is the wall of the hernial sac; e represents the elevation of thetunicle Taginalis produced by the SCEOTAL HEENIA. 309 Treatment. — I must caution all, that when hernia is pre- sent drugs of any kind are very dangerous. An operation is indispensable, and in scrotal hernia the Hne of practice is to place the animal on its back, and by the taxis to return the intestine into the abdomea When this is found impractic- able, an operation has to be performed, which consists in dividing the constriction and castrating the animal by the covered operation.* The first winter I was in Edinburgh, a remarkable case came under my observation. An aged gelding was seized with severe symptoms of colic, and a practitioner was called upon to treat it. He administered one of the antispasmodic draughts which I have before condemned. I happened to see the animal in pain, and, on examining it, found a scrotal hernia. In fact, I did not think the animal was a gelding imtU I had it cast, applied the taxis, relieved the animal, and saw that the horse was castrated. Venteal Heenia. This is an accident, which consists in the intestine pro- truding through an artificial opening in the abdominal walls, produced by violence. The size varies very greatly in difi'erent cases, and we rarely find that, strangulation occurs. Ventral hemife are rarely curable, except when recent; and I should recommend every practitioner called to an animal shortly after the accident, to cast at once, make a moderate incision into the hernial sac, and having pressed the intestine into the abdomen, introduce a number of strong metallic sutures through the muscular wound. Thus treated, the cases some- times do well, however extensive the laceration may be. I do not advise compression, &c., as adhesion occurs between * See tlie Vetermm-icm's Fad^Mecum. Second Edition. 310 MESENTERIC HBENIA. — GUT-TIE m CATTLE. the intestine and hernial neck or sac, and a radical cure is afterwards impossible. Mesentbeic Heenia. This is one of the internal lesions which cannot be dis- tinguished from ordinary volvulus, intussusception, or other causes of strangulation of the intestine. After death it is found that a fold of intestine has accidentally slipped through a -tear in the mesentery. Gut-tie in Cattle. This interesting lesion occurs in certain districts, and especially ia countries where oxen are worked in the plough. It has been erroneously considered as a ligature of the intes- tine by the spermatic cord, which is left long in castrating, by pulling out the testicle after an incision in the scrotum. The nature of the lesion has been weU described by the German veterinarians. It consists in protrusion of intestine through a laceration of the peritoneum into a cul-de-sac between the remnant of the spermatic cord and the margin of the pelvis. It is indicated by severe abdominal pain, and is recognised at once by the practitioners who often meet with cases in the districts where it is observed. Treatment. — It is possible to have a spontaneous cure by turning the animal sharply on its back, or suddenly elevating its hind quarters by causing it to leap oif a step. If this fail, the hand must be passed up the rectum, and reduction effected by pushing with the palm upwards and forwards, so as to lift the imprisoned fold through the opening. In cases that resist even this method, an incision is made into the flank, and the intestine is withdrawn from confinement by passing the hand into the abdomen. The abdominal wound is then sewn up, and the cases do remarkably weU, diseases of the iiyee. 311 Pheenic and Omental Heenia. These are lesions due to violent efforts, and occurring during tlie struggles in attacks of colic, &c. The first con- sists in rupture of the diaphragm, and protrusion of the in- testine into the thorax, and the other consists in passage of a fold of gut through the foramen of Winslow and the omen- tal sac. They are incurable lesions. I shall hereafter have occasion to notice Euptures of the Diaphragm, Diseases op the Livee. There are many diseases of the liver in the lower animals ■which are not recognised during life, and some that are symp- tomatic of constitutional disturbance. Thus, we find the livers of cattle slaughtered for human food frequently the seat of organic lesion, never suspected during Kfe, and in other in- stances we have symptoms of general anEemia and dropsy, which, on a post-mortem examination, prove to have been connected with hepatic disease, though no sign during life would have indicated that this organ was more especi- ally implicated. We have here to deal with disorders of the liver as a secreting organ, and at a future time we shall indicate some blood changes dependent on a disturbance in the blood-forming process carried on in the liver. Jaundice. — Icteetjs. It is rare to see attacks of jaundice in animals, except in dangerous fevers, such as distemper in the dog, or contagious typhoid in cattle. There are, it is true, some cases due to hepatic inertia, which may merit the simple name of jaundice, but commonly this must be regarded as a symptom. The immediate cause of jaundice has given rise to consi- derable discussion. It is declared by some as probable that, 312 JAUNDICE. — ICTEEUS. even in a state of health, all the bile formed in the liver does not pass into the bile ducts, but that a portion of it enters the hepatic veins, along with the sugar ; the quantity which thus enters, varying with the distribution of the blood in the gland, and with the relative degrees of pressure exerted by the contents of the veins, and of the minute bile ducts upon the secreting cells, being largest, when the pressure on the sides of the veins is least, and when that on the ducts is greatest. The biliary acids which thus enter the blood, or which are re-absorbed from the intestines, are supposed to undergo certain changes from oxydation, and may thus account for the large quantity of taurine which has been found in the healthy lung, and for the pigments which are naturally voided in the urine. When, however, anything interferes with these nor- mal metamorphoses in the blood, as when this fluid becomes contaminated by the purulent infection, or by .any other poison, it is supposed, that the complete metamorphd^s of the colourless bile into urinary pigments is arrested, and that the intermediate substance, bUe-pigment, is formed in the blsqd, so as to colour the various tissues and secretions. Kiihne has studied this question, and does not believe that the biliary acids are changed in the blood into bile-pigment, but shows that blood-pigment is changed into bile-pigment, under the influence of the biliary acids. By adopting the method of Hoppe, he was able to determine constantly the presence of the biliary acids in the urine of persons sufiering from icterus, as well as in that of dogs whose biliary ducts had been tied. 'WTien dog'fe bUe, or solution of the bUiary acids, was injected into a vein, bile pigment and the salts were detected in the urine. Even ia large quantities of healthy urine no biliary acids could be found. Symptoms. — ^When jaundice occurs as an idiopathic ma- lady, it is detected by the yellow colour of the visible mucous JAUNDICE.— ICIEEUS. 313 membranes and the skin. There is usually loss of appetite, a slimy furred tongue; dry, hard dung covered with mucus. The digestive organs are most disturbed, and the colouring principles of bile are discharged by the kidneys, as proved by the manner in which it tiages paper when dipped in the urine and dried. If jaundice is not relieved, the animal com- pletely loses its appetite, becomes ansemic, its limbs are occa- sionally cedematous, and the temperature of the body becomes very low. These symptoms often continue, notwithstanding active measures being directed for their removal Post-mortem appearances. — In cases of jaundice which terminate fatally, the gall-ducts are found indtirated or ob- structed by gaU-stones, hydatids, abscesses, or other enlarge- ments which form on them. The treatment of jaundice consists ia the internal use of aloes and saline purgatives. After these, if jaundice continue, a dose of calomel may be given, but perhaps greater reliance can be placed in continuing with neutral salts, such as nitre and sulphate of soda, in two or four ounce doses daUy. Tur- pentine in linseed tea, either alone or combined with aloes, has been recommended, besides the external use of rube- facients. Clysters prove of great service in, the treatment of this disease. Hypee^mia, oe Congestion of tHe Litee. — h^^'atieehcea. Heat, good feeding, and inactivity, are great causes of hepatic derangement. In all animals, as in man, this is observed, though ia the latter the use of alcohohc beverages, besides other circumstances incidental to a very artificial mode of Uv- ing, favour materially congestion and other diseases of the liver. The pampered horse is, however, subject to maladies of this organ to no small extent. 314 HYPEE-fflMIA. There are instances of liver disease in the horse of pecu- liarly insidious origin, and indicated by a state of obesity, pallor, and occasional yellowness of the mucous membranes, dulness, and very sleek skin, with occasional attacks of lameness in the off fore-leg. Pulse soft, rather weak and slow, numbering about 28 per minute. Over-exertion or excessive repletion of the stomach, may give rise to colicky symptoms, or to more dangerous indica- tions of internal haemorrhage. The animal falls, rolls, sighSj and breathes heavily, looking round to the right side, and suffering from intense cold ears and limbs. The eyes are blanched, pupils dilated, anxious expression of countenance, pulse small, and very frequent. The animal is restive, and discharges a scanty quantity of high-coloured urine. Its breath is foetid, tongue furred, and mouth clammy. In some, cases the paroxysms are not so severe as to cause animals to faint, and a horse may stand propping himself up by the side of the stall, or if moved, has a staggering gait, and manifest-' ing most of the above-mentioned symptoms. Post-mortem appearances. — In the early stages the liver is not changed in form, but is bulky, of a uniform, or in some cases, irregular dark reddish-brown colour, and dis- tended with blood. Not unfrequently in the horse we observe good specimens of 'nutmeg Hver,' in which there is an appearance of congestion in patches within the tubules, and surrounded by grey, or lightish-brown liver tissue. This light colour is due to fatty degeneration of the cells, which are swollen, and compress the capillaries. When the disease is further advanced, there are patches of deep red colour, where some capillaries have given way, and the effused blood is in process of disintegration and absorption. Very fine crystals of hEematine are obtained from these extravasa- tions. Sometimes the Uver is broken up in parts, and the HTPER^anA. 315 finger lacerates its tissue on the slightest pressure. So long as the GKsson's capsule remaias intact, the hsemorrhages are not fatal, but when, after a succession of paroxysms, a fatal bleeding supervenes, we find, in addition to the above post-mortem signs, an efiusion of blood in the abdomen, a large rupture in the liver, and a pallid condition of the whole body. The heart is frequently the seat of fatty degeneration, and the deposits of fat over the body are very extensive. Pathology. — It is probable that fatty degeneration of the heart and a languid circulation predispose to congestion of the liver. This organ, under the iafluence of heat, the rapid accumulation of fat, and unduly taxed by the rich food which the animal is allowed, is affected with hypersemia, conges- tion, and fatty degeration, predisposing to haemorrhage and ruptures such as we have described. Treatment. — Hygienic rules should be obeyed as to food, exercise, and ventUation. Aloetic purgatives may be occa- sionally given. Bleeding should be avoided. It is during the paroxysms that we are often called upon to treat, but we can do little good except keep the animal quiet, give cold- water clysters, apply pounded ice and salt to the region of the liver, and dash cold water on the body. Mr John Field recommended the administration of the following — Copaiba 1^ oz, Linseed tea . . . ' -12 „ This may be repeated. The following may also be of great service — DUute sulphuric acid . . . 4 oz. Compound tincture of cinnamon . 4 „ One or two tablespoonfnls in a quart of water every three or four hours until the animal rallies. Preparations of ammonia and stimulants in general should be avoided. Sulphate of 316 HEPATITIS. iron may be given in food wlien all severe symptoms have subsided, but sbould be continued in drackm doses only two or tliree days. Tbe disease is very refractory, and as the paroxysms increase in frequency and severity, the animal's life is in imminent danger. Hepatitis. EoU very justly remarks, in his able work on Pathology, that this is a most rare disease affecting our domestic ani- mals, and the cases that are diagnosed as hepatitis should in all probability be regarded as simple hypersemia or conges- tion of the hver — indeed, the disease that we have last con- sidered. The same author remarks that he has hitherto only seen a few instances of hepatitis in the horse. The in- flamed portions of the Hver were found of a yellowish or red- dish-grey colour, very soft, and interspersed with yellowish poiats of suppuration. The hepatic parenchyma surrounding these spots were congested, and the peritoneal covering opaque. Mr John Field records a case of abscess in the liver, and says : — "September 15th, 1823. — A bay gelding, belonging to Mr P , died on the above day, and upon examining the body, it appeared that an abscess had formed in the right lobe of the Hver, just under the peritoneal coat, at the ante- rior part of the organ: the coat under which the abscess formed adhered firmly to the diaphragm. The abscess con- tained 29 lbs. of thin brown pus. The animal had been ail- ing and wasting for a considerable time before, and was occa- sionally unfit for work. The first acute inflammatory symptoms took place about three weeks previous to his death: the pulse was not frequent, but the symptoms were all those of sub-acute inflammation of the pleura." HEPATITIS. 317 In another instance, on examining tLe liver, wHch was extremely high-coloured and in some parts tumid, there were found throughout its substance collections of pus, from the size of a pea to that of a hen's egg. These collections did not form at regular distances, but had more or less of the substance of the liver between them. Metastatic abscesses, which are the result of a constitutional tendency to the production of pus in different parts of the body, are frequently seen in the liver, but we shall aUude to this variety under the head Blood Diseases. I have had occasion to examine livers both of the ox and horse, in which the peritoneal surface was considerably thick- ened, and consolidation of the substance of the gland had occurred to some depth. In some instances, and not rare in old cows, a circumscribed abscess has been discovered sur- rounded by dense layers of plastic Ijrmph, having undergone a, partial organization. EoU particularly notices these collec- tions of pus in ' capsules with thick walls ' (dickwandigen kapseln) which have resulted from an attack of hepatitis. In hot countries, inflammation of the liver is said some- times to assume an epizootic form, especially about the end of the summer. It is almost always connected with inflam- mation of other abdominal organs; after death the liver is found congested, of a greyish-red colour, and weighing from 40 to 50 pounds. In addition to ordinary symptoms, there is irritation of the sMn. Lessona describes such an epizootic as having occurred in Italy, in 1827. There is no animal declared to be more frequently aifected with hepatitis than the dog, and probably because jaundice is frequently observed in this animal Symptoms. — ^As Janosch correctly states, there is no disease more difficult to recognise than hepatitis. It seldom occurs as an acute affection, and mostly in a chronic form. Animals 318 HEPATITIS. affected with this disease are dull and listless ; indicate no severe pain; respiration is not thoracic, but almost entirely abdominal; the skin is harsh, dry, and coat star- ing. The yisible mucous membranes have a reddish-yellow colour, and the tongue is furred and dirty. Pulse is small and frequent, but irregular both as to number and character. In some instances it is remarkably slow. The faeces are hard, and often coated with mucus, and when the disease advances the symptoms of jaundice are most marked. In acute liver disease, from a check to the secretion of bile, the excrement becomes white, clayey, and very fetid. The febrile symptoms are sometimes severe, if the peritoneal coat is much impli- cated, and subside when the abdomen enlarges from effiision. Should dropsy thus result, the animal becomes emaciated, and dies within a few weeks. Treatment. — I do not agree with the recommendation given by Mr Percivall to bleed repeatedly, abstracting, how- ever, small quantities in this disease. Cathartics, and espe- cially aloes, must be relied on, and followed up by frequent doses of nitre. The right side must be blistered, and, if acute symptoms are absent, the following may be prescribed -.-^ Hydrochlorate of ammonia . . 2 oz. Sulphate of soda . . . . 8 oz. Powdered linseed , , , . 4 oz. Treacle as much as sufficient to make an electuary, A table- spoonful every two hours. Paeasitic Diseases of Livee, The fluke — distoma hsepaticum — ^infests, to a very great extent, the liver of cattle and sheep. I shall enter into the history of this parasite when I refer to disorders of Nutri- tion, and in the description of Eot in Cattle and Sheep. BILIAET CALCULI. 319 EcMaococcus veterinorumj a hydatid, whicli may be found in any of the internal organs, also frequently infests the liver. BiLLiET CaLCTTLL Gall-stones are very commonly met with in the ducts of the liver. They vary in size from a pin's head to a pigeon's egg. I have only seen one as large as the latter, and that from a horse. Sometimes a deposit forms on the inside of Fig. 108. 320 DISEASES OP THE PANCEEAS. tte gall-ducts, especially when these have become dilated from the presence of flukes in them (see Fig. 108.) These casts of the gall-ducts are found by Dr Thudichum to be composed of cholocrome (colouring matter of bile) precipi- tated in a granular form. It is chiefly in the ox that gall-stones are discovered, and they are made up of cholocrome, with cholic acid, phos- phates, and carbonates of lime and magnesia. Unpleasant symptoms only arise when the gall-stones are passed through the ducts and become fixed by the spasmodic action of the latter. The paia they induce is very severe, but the true cause of the suffering is never diagnosed in the lower animals. Jaundice, attended with pains at intervals, may turn our attention to the liver. Aloetic purgatives must be given in such cases, besides the use of alkaline salts, phosphates, according to Dr Thudichum, and chloride of sodium. Diseases of the Panceeas. The pancreas is an organ doubtless often functionally dis- turbed, and the absence of its secretion impairs digestion, and gives rise to a form of diarrhoea in which fatty prin- ciples are in excess in. the excrement. Organic disease is not often discovered in this organ, but cancerous deposit, abscess, melanotic matter, &c., have been found in it. Panceeatio Calculi, or small white concretions, varying in size from a millet seed to a common pea, are often found in large numbers in the pancreatic ducts of cattle after death, but I am not aware of any symptoms during life whereby their presence may be recognised. (ff(«<<<