In intestinal constipation or other obstruction, fæces may be passed at first in small pellets coated with mucus or they may be at first passed freely but in steadily lessening quantities until they stop altogether. The pain is constant but worse at one time than another and in case of external hernia the swelling will be visible.
In helminthiasis there is the general unthriftiness, irregular appetite, frizzled broken hair on the base of the tail, a fur of dried mucus around the anus and the presence of parasites in the droppings.
In verminous thrombosis, to the symptoms just named there are added the reckless method of throwing himself down, hyperthermia, constancy of the pain, rapidly running down pulse, cold sweats, and profound prostration. When blood is passed per anum it is all the more significant.
In enteritis or peritonitis the hyperthermia and the constancy of the pains are sufficiently pathognomonic.
In intestinal anthrax there are the dusky brownish yellow mucosæ, the marked prostration, the hyperthermia and the constancy of the suffering. There is also the fact that the region is subject to anthrax and bacilli may be present in the blood.
In acute hepatic disease there is hyperthermia, dusky or icteric mucous membranes, great tenderness when percussion is made over the short ribs, and sometimes lameness of one shoulder (usually the right).
In disease of the urinary or generative organs the stiff or straddling gait, tender loins, and the frequent stretching as if to urinate, are nearly pathognomonic.
In pleurisy the hyperthermia, the transient duration of the colic, and the tenderness on manipulating the intercostal spaces will usually differentiate.
Ruminants. In cattle, as in the horse, the symptoms of spasmodic colic are restlessness, constant movement, looking round at the flanks, wriggling of the tail, uneasy lifting of the hind feet, kicking at the abdomen, and abruptly lying down and rising again. The animal does not roll on the back nor sit on the haunches. Fæces may be passed in small quantity or entirely suppressed, and there may be a slight tympany of the paunch.
Swine. The animal is attacked abruptly, starts with a grunt or scream, moves around uneasily, lies down, rolls, gets up, and repeats the motions. Vomiting is not uncommon, and the belly may be tense, tympanitic and even tender. The bowels may be confined or relaxed.