Читать книгу Common Diseases of Farm Animals - Robert Alexander Craig - Страница 20

There is a remarkable difference in the development of the stomachs of solipeds and ruminants.

The horse's stomach (Fig. 8) is simple and has a capacity of three or four gallons. The left portion is lined with a cuticular mucous membrane, and the right portion with a glandular mucous membrane that has in it the glands that secrete the gastric juice. The most important digestive change in the feed is the action of the gastric juice on the proteids and their conversion into the simpler products, proteoses and peptones.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.—Photograph of model of horse's stomach: left portion, oesophagus, right portion, and intestine.]

[Illustration: FIG. 9.—Photograph of model of stomach of ruminant: rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum.]

[Illustration: FIG. 10.—A section of the wall of the rumen and reticulum, showing the oesophageal groove: lips of groove; opening from oesophagus; and opening into omasum.]

RUMINANTS have a compound stomach (Figs. 9 and 10). The capacity of the stomach of the ox is between twenty and thirty gallons. The four compartments into which it is divided are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum or true stomach. The rumen is the largest compartment, with a capacity of more than twenty gallons. The reticulum is the smallest, with a capacity of about one-half gallon.

After a brief mastication, the food passes directly to the rumen. Here it is subjected to a churning movement that mixes and presses the contents of the rumen forward in the direction of the oesophageal opening, where it is ready for regurgitation. It is then carried back to the mouth, remasticated and returned to the rumen. This is termed rumination. All food material that is sufficiently broken up is directed toward the opening into the third compartment by the oesophageal grove (Fig. 10), a demi-canal that connects this with the oesophageal opening.

The third compartment, the omasum, communicates anteriorly with the second and first, and posteriorly with the fourth compartment or true stomach. The interior arrangement of this compartment is most singular. It is divided by a number of large folds of the lining membrane between which are smaller folds. It is between these folds that the contents pass.

The first three compartments possess no glands capable of secreting a digestive juice. However, important digestive changes occur. The carbohydrates are digested by means of enzymes contained in the feed. The most important function of the rumen and omasum is the maceration of the fibrous substances, and the digestion of the cellulose. Between sixty and seventy per cent of the cellulose is digested in the rumen.

The abomasum is lined by a gastric mucous membrane. The gastric juice secreted converts the protein into peptones. In the young a milk curdling ferment is also secreted by the glands of this compartment.

THE STOMACH OF THE HOG is a type between the carnivora and ruminant. The digestive changes may be divided into four stages. The first period is one of starch conversion; the second period is the same, only more pronounced; the third period, both starch and protein conversion occurs; and the fourth period is taken up mostly with protein digestion.

ACUTE INDIGESTION OF THE STOMACH OF SOLIPEDS.—Diseases of the stomach are less common in solipeds than in ruminants. The simple stomach of the horse and the comparatively unimportant place that it occupies in the digestion of the feed renders it less subject to disease. Only under the most unfavorable conditions for digestion of the feed does this class of disorders occur. Acute indigestion in the form of overloading and fermentation occurs in the stomach (Fig. 11).

The predisposing causes that have to do with the development of these disorders, are the small capacity of the stomach and the location and smallness of the openings leading from the oesophagus and into the small intestines. Greedy eaters are more prone to indigestion than animals that eat slowly and are fed intelligently.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.—Dilated stomach of horse.]

The following exciting causes may be mentioned: Sudden changes in ration; feeding too much green feed or grain; feeding frozen or decomposed feeds; drinking ice-cold water; and violent exercise or work that the animal is not accustomed to, immediately after feeding are the common disease-producing factors.

The symptoms may vary from impaired appetite and slight restlessness to violent, colicky pains. In the large majority of cases the attendant is unable to differentiate between this and other forms of acute indigestion. The characteristic symptoms are attempts at regurgitation and vomiting, assuming a dog-sitting position and finally such nervous symptoms as champing of the jaws, staggering movement and extreme dulness.

The violent form of gastric indigestion frequently ends in death. Rupture of the stomach is not an uncommon complication (Fig. 12).

[Illustration: FIG. 12.—Rupture of stomach of horse.]

The treatment is both preventive and medicinal. This digestive disorder can be prevented. The feeding of the right kind of a ration and in the right way, and avoiding conditions that may interfere with the digestion of the feed, are the general lines of preventive treatment indicated. Such measures are of special importance in the handling of animals that possess an individual predisposition toward this class of disease. In mild attacks the animal should be subjected to a rigid or careful diet during the attack and for a few days later.

It is advisable to place the animal in a comfortable stall that is well bedded with straw and plenty large for it to move about in. If a roomy sick-stall can not be provided, a grass lot or barn floor may be used. If the weather is chilly or cold, the body should be covered with a blanket and roller bandages applied to the limbs.

Bulky drenches should not be given. Stimulants and drugs capable of retarding fermentation are indicated. Sometimes the administration of a sedative is indicated. Treatment should be prompt, as in many cases fermentation of the contents of the stomach occurs and gases form rapidly. From two to four ounces of oil of turpentine may be given in from six to eight ounces of linseed oil.

ACUTE INDIGESTION OF THE STOMACH OF RUMINANTS.—The different forms of acute indigestion are bloating, overloading of the rumen and impaction of the omasum.

TYMPANITES, "BLOATING."—This disorder is usually caused by animals feeding on green feeds, such as clover, alfalfa and green corn, that ferment readily. Stormy, rainy weather seems to favor bloating. The consumption of spoiled feeds such as potatoes and beets may cause it. The drinking of a large quantity of water, especially if cold, chills the wall of the rumen and interferes with its movement. Frozen feeds may act in the same way. Sudden changes in the feed, inflammation of the rumen, and a weak peristaltic movement of the paunch resulting from disease or insufficient nourishment are frequent causes. It may occur in chronic disease. In tuberculosis, bloating sometimes occurs.

The symptoms are as follows: The paunch or rumen occupies the left side of the abdominal cavity, hence the distention of the abdominal wall by the collecting of gas in the rumen occurs principally on that side. The gas forms quickly and the distended wall is highly elastic and resonant. The animal stops eating and ruminating, the back may be arched and the ears droop. In the more severe cases the wall of the abdomen is distended on both sides, the respirations are quickened and labored, the pulse small and quick, the eyes are prominent and the mucous membrane congested. Death results from asphyxia brought on by the distended paunch pushing forward and interfering with the movement of the lungs and the absorption of the poisonous gases.

The treatment is both preventive and medicinal. This form of acute indigestion can be largely prevented by practising the following preventive measures: All changes in the feed should be made gradually, especially if the ration fed is heavy, or the new ration consists largely of green, succulent feed. Cattle pasturing on clover should be kept under close observation. It is not advisable to pasture cattle on rank growths of clover that are wet with dew or a light rain. Bloating can be quickly relieved by puncturing the wall of the paunch with the trocar and cannula. The operation is quite simple and is not followed by bad results. The instrument is plunged through the walls of the abdomen and rumen in the most prominent portion of the flank, midway between the border of the last rib and the point of the haunch (Fig. 13). The trocar is then withdrawn from the cannula. After the gas has escaped through the cannula, the trocar is replaced and the instrument withdrawn. After using the trocar and cannula, the instrument should be cleaned by placing it in boiling hot water. It is advisable to wash the skin at the seat of the operation with a disinfectant before operating. In chronic tympanitis, it is sometimes advisable to leave the cannula in position by tying a tape to the flange, passing it around the body and tying.

As a cathartic for cattle, we may give one quart of linseed and from two to four ounces of turpentine, or one to two pounds of Epsom or Glauber's salts, dissolved in plenty of water. Sheep may be given about one-fourth the dose recommended for cattle.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.—The X indicates the point where the wall of flank and rumen are punctured with trocar and cannula in "bloat."]

OVERLOADING THE RUMEN.—This form of indigestion occurs when ruminants have access to feeds that they are not accustomed to. As a result, they eat greedily and the mass of feed in the rumen becomes so heavy that the walls of the organ can not move it about, and digestion is interfered with. This is especially true of succulent feeds. A diseased condition of the animal predisposes it to this disorder. If after eating an excessive amount of dry, innutritions fodder, the animal drinks freely of cold water, acute symptoms of overloading are manifested.

The general symptoms occurring in overloading resembles those seen in bloating. The symptoms may be mild and extend over a period of several days, or it may take on a highly acute form, terminating fatally within a few hours. The acuteness of the attack depends on the character and quantity of feed eaten. If a large quantity of green feed is eaten, fermentation occurs and the animal may die within a few hours. The swelling on the left side has a doughy feel. It is not as elastic and resonant as in bloat, even when complicated by some gas formation. The animal may stop ruminating, refuse to eat, and act dull. In the more severe cases the respirations are hurried and labored, the pulse small and quick and the expression of the face indicates pain. Colicky pains sometimes occur. Death may occur from shock or asphyxia.

The treatment is both preventive and curative. This disease can be prevented by using the necessary precautions to prevent animals from overeating. If gas forms, the trocar and cannula should be used. A drench of from one to two pounds of Epsom or Glauber's salts should be given. Sheep may be given from four to six ounces of Epsom or Glauber's salts. We should endeavor to stimulate the movement of the paunch by pressure on the flank with the hand, throwing cold water on the wall of the abdomen and by hypodermic injections of strychnine. Rumenotomy should be performed when necessary. This operation consists in opening the walls of the abdomen and rumen, and removing a part of the contents of the rumen. This is not a dangerous operation when properly performed, and should not be postponed until the animal is too weak to make a recovery.

IMPACTION OF THE OMASUM.—This disease may occur as a complication of other forms of acute indigestion and diseases accompanied by an abnormal body temperature. Feeds that are dry and innutritions commonly cause it. Other causes are an excessive quantity of feed, sudden changes in the diet and drinking an insufficient quantity of water.

As in other diseases of the stomach, the appetite is diminished, rumination ceases or occurs at irregular intervals, and the animal is more or less feverish. Bloating and constipation may occur. The animal may lose flesh, is weak, walks stiffly and grunts as though in pain when it moves about in the stall and at each respiration. In the acute form, marked symptoms are sometimes manifested. At first the animal acts drowsy; later violent nervous symptoms may develop.

The course of this disease varies from a few days to several weeks. Death frequently occurs. Frequently a diarrhoea accompanies recovery, a portion of the faeces appearing black with polished surfaces, as though they had been baked.

The preventive treatment consists in practising the necessary precautions against the development of this disease by avoiding sudden changes in the feed, the feeding of dry, innutritions feeds in too large amounts, allowing animals plenty of water and providing them with salt. The best purgative to give is Glauber's or Epsom salts in from one- to two-pound doses, dissolved in at least one gallon of water. This physic may be repeated in from twelve to eighteen hours if necessary. Two drachms of tincture of nux vomica and one ounce of alcohol may be given in a drench three times daily. Hypodermic injections of strychnine, eserine, or pilocarpine are useful in the treatment of this disease. When recovery begins, the animal should be allowed moderate exercise and be fed food of a laxative nature.

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE STOMACH OF RUMINANTS.—Foreign bodies such as hair balls and wire are very commonly found in the reticulum. This is because of the habits of this class of animals. Cattle eat their feed hastily and do not pick it over as carefully as does the horse.

Smooth, round objects do no appreciable harm unless they block the opening into the third compartment of the stomach. This frequently occurs in wool-eating lambs. Sharp-pointed objects may penetrate the surrounding tissues or such organs as the spleen, diaphragm, and pericardial sack. If these organs are injured by the foreign body serious symptoms develop. The general symptoms are pain, fever, weakness and marked emaciation. It is very difficult to form a correct diagnosis, as the disease comes on without any apparent cause. Sometimes a swelling is noticed in the right and inferior abdominal region. If the heart becomes injured, symptoms of pericarditis are manifested.

The treatment is largely preventive. Special care should be used to avoid getting foreign substances into the feed given to cattle. The feed troughs should be kept clean; we should avoid dropping nails and staples into the feed when repairing the silo or grain bin; and pieces of baling wire should be removed from straw or hay. Feeds known to be dirty should be run through a fanning mill before feeding.

INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH OF SWINE.—Overloading and feeding spoiled feed are common causes of inflammation of the stomach. Swill-fed hogs are most commonly affected with this disorder. Overloading more often results in an inflammation of the stomach if the overloading follows the feeding of a light ration, and the weather is extremely warm. Hogs that are accustomed to eating salt may eat too much of it when fed to them after it is withheld for a week or longer, and a large quantity of water is taken soon afterwards. Slop containing alkaline washing powders and soaps irritate the stomach and intestines and cause a serious inflammation.

The symptoms are loss of appetite, restlessness and sometimes colicky pains. The hog usually wanders off by itself, acts dull, grunts, lies down in a quiet place or stands with the back arched and the abdomen held tense. Vomiting commonly occurs. Sometimes the animal has a diarrhoea. The body temperature may be above normal.

The treatment consists in avoiding irritating feeds and sudden changes in the kind or quantity of feed fed. Drenching with hot water, or with about one ounce of ipecacuan may be practised. From one to three ounces of castor oil, depending on the size of the hog, may be given. After recovery the hogs should be confined in a comfortable pen and fed an easily digested ration.