Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others].

Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    55/690 (page 49)
    remove the object by cutting down upon it. This should scarcely be attempted by a novice, as a knowledge of the anatom}7 of the parts is- essential to avoid cutting the large artery, vein, and nerve that are closely related to the esophagus in its cervical portion. Thoracic choke.—Thoracic choke can be treated only by means of the introduction of oils and mucilaginous drinks, and the careful use of the probang. Stricture of the esophagus.—This is due to corrosive medicines,, previous choking (accompanied by lacerations, which, in healing, nar- row the passage), or pressure on the gullet by tumors. In the majority of cases of stricture, dilatation of the gullet in front of the constricted portion soon occurs. This dilatation is due to the frequent accumula- tion of solid food above the constriction. Little can be done in either of these instances except to feed on sloppy or liquid food. Sacular dilatation of the esophagus.—This follows choking, and is due to stretching or rupture of the muscular coat of the gullet, allowing the internal, or mucous, coat to protrude through the lacer- ated muscular walls. Such a dilatation, or pouch, may gradually enlarge from the frequent imprisonment of food. When liquids are taken, the solid materials are partially washed out of the pouch. Symptoms.—The symptoms are as follows: The horse is able to swallow a few mouthfuls of food without apparent difficulty; then ho will stop feeding, paw, contract the muscles of his neck, and eject a portion of the food through his nose or mouth, or it will gradually work down to the stomach. As the dilatation thus empties itself the symptoms gradually subside, only to reappear when he has again taken solid food. Liquids pass without any, or but little, inconvenience. Should this dilatation exist in the cervical region, surgical interference may sometimes prove effectual; if in the thoracic portion, nothing can be done, and the patient rapidly passes from hand to hand by u swap- ping,” until, at no distant date, the contents of the sac become too firm to be dislodged as heretofore, and the animal succumbs. DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES. As a rule it is most difficult to distinguish between diseases of the stomach and of the intestines of the horse. The reason for this is that the stomach is relatively small. It lies away from the abdominal wall, and so pressure from without can not be brought to bear upon it to reveal sensitiveness or pain. Nor does enlargement, or distention, of the stomach produce visible alteration in the form of the abdomen of the horse. Moreover, it is a rule to which there are few exceptions that an irritant or cause of disease of the stomach acts likewise upon the intestines, so that it is customary to find them similarly deranged. For these reasons it is logical to discuss together the diseases of the