When colic has set in, the patient can be walked about. If pain persists, the region of the abdomen may be dressed with oil of turpentine, mustard, or similar counter-irritants. The application of warm clothing is also useful. Finally, in grave cases, a moderate quantity (three, four, or five quarts) of blood may be withdrawn from the jugular. The administration of stimulants like wine, alcohol, etc., is also indicated.
COLIC DUE TO INVAGINATION.
Invagination consists in the passage of one portion of the intestine into the next-following portion. When once the condition has been set up it tends to become aggravated, the invaginated part being drawn further and further forwards. Invaginations therefore may vary in length between a few inches and sixteen to twenty inches.
Law states (Vol. II. p. 347) that in cattle and swine invagination of the large colon is almost impossible owing to the relation of the bowel with the layers of the mesentery. The anatomical arrangement is opposed to the formation of invagination, yet this accident is not uncommon in cattle and swine. The small intestine can be invaginated into the cæcum or into itself. The cæcum may become invaginated, or it may pass into the colon or rectum.
Cartwright, Veterinarian (1829), reports a case of invagination in a bull calf, and Youatt gives particulars of a similar case which was followed by sloughing and discharge per anum of the intussuscepted portion of bowel. (See also Möller and Dollar’s “Regional Surgery,” p. 328.)
Causation. This variety of colic is due to a number of somewhat obscure causes. In a general sense we may say that anything which increases intestinal peristalsis increases the risk of invagination. The accident may follow intestinal congestion, but is most frequent in animals suffering from intestinal worms, or in animals used for heavy work. Under the influence of violent tractive efforts the peristaltic movements are stimulated, and the intestine being in an oblique position on a plane inclined backwards, the contracted portion may slip into the dilated section behind it.
Fig. 68.—Invagination of the intestine in an ox (the constricting portion has been incised longitudinally).
Invagination may also occur without any apparent cause, even in animals standing in the stable.
Symptoms. The attack always occurs suddenly, develops rapidly, and is of an extremely grave character.