DIAGRAM EXPLAINING HOW THE BOWELS ARE
AFFECTED BY SPASMODIC COLIC.
a a. The healthy intestine rendered much
more vascular by the blood being spasmodically
driven out of other portions of the tube.
b. A portion of the tube much diminished by
the presence of abdominal spasm.
c. The pallid appearance, denoting the place
which colic has recently attacked.
Any cause may kindle colic. It is common after fast driving; hence many gentlemen take colic drinks to Epsom races. That affection which in ladies is designated spasms, in gentlemen is called pain in the bowels, and in children is known as the bellyache, is, in the horse, colic; and from the largeness of the animal's intestines, the affection probably provokes more anguish in the quadruped than the same disorder does in the entire human race. Under whatever term it may be recognized, spasmodic colic is never more than partial contraction of the muscular coat of the intestines. The action so compresses a part of the tube as to expel the blood and render the natural pink of the tissues, for some time after the disorder has departed, a glistening white. The blood, driven from particular spots, is forced into those parts in which no disease exists. Excess of blood predisposes to inflammation; hence we probably trace the reason why, if spasmodic colic be suffered to continue, the affection is so apt to end in incurable enteritis.
Colic most often attacks the small intestines, though the disease is by no means confined to those parts. It first occurs on a limited space; presently it vanishes altogether, and afterward reappears on some distant portion of the alimentary canal; or, in other words, colic dodges about, its attacks becoming more numerous and the intermissions shorter as the period of its commencement grows more distant. Change of water, change of food, getting wet, fatiguing journeys, are all likely to originate it; but, perhaps, it is most frequently exhibited when no known cause is in operation. Aloes, however, are proved to be among the surest provocatives of this disease. Many horses cannot swallow pure aloes in any form, without being severely griped. For such animals, the following drench is recommended, instead of the above-named drug in substance:—
| Sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each | One ounce. |
| Compound tincture of aloes made with diluted spirits of wine | Five ounces. |
| Cold water | One pint. |
THE FIRST STAGE OF SPASMODIC COLIC.