Involved in rinderpest, Texas fever, malignant catarrh, etc.
Diphtheritis, Tuberculosis, Irritant poisons, Traumatisms, Impactions,
change to green food, etc. Lesions: Congestion, ramified redness,
petechiæ, desquamation, softening, necrosis, false membranes,
ulcerations, pigmentation, papillary growths, impaction. Symptoms:
those of impaction with fever. Course, Treatment: demulcents,
laxatives, blisters, bismuth, eserine, veratrine, pilocarpin,
electricity, careful diet.
Like the rumen the omasum is the seat of local inflammatory lesions in
certain specific fevers. Thus in Rinderpest, and Texas fever it is
almost always the seat of patches of congestion and blood extravasation,
and in the latter of necrosis and perforation of the folds. Similar
lesions sometimes appear in malignant catarrh and anthrax. Dieckerhoff
describes exudates, ulcerations and even perforations in
pseudo-diphtheritis, and Brückmüller, congestions and ecchymoses in
connection with a cutaneous rash. Tuberculosis of the organ is somewhat
rare and is held to be due to the swallowing of bronchial secretions in
cases of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Cases of primary inflammation are rare, in keeping with the soft finely
divided condition in which the food reaches the organ. It may, however,
occur in case of the ingestion of arsenic and other irritant poisons, or
of goring, kicks and other injuries on the right hypochondrium, or from
the irritation attendant on impaction, or again from the stimulus of a
sudden change to rich green food.
The _lesions_ in such a case are congestion of the folds with patches of
ramified redness, blood extravasations, desquamation, softening or even
gangrene. False membranes, perforating ulcers, and erosions are
sometimes present. In the chronic forms grayish or slate colored
pigmentation of the mucosa, congestions and papillary growths are
common.
In both acute and chronic forms the congestion entails loss of
contractility and thus impaction and drying of the ingesta between the
folds of the organ are constant.
_Symptoms._ These are the symptoms of impaction of the manifolds,
impaired appetite and rumination, formation of solid masses in the
rumen, tympany, tenderness or pressure on the right hvpochrondrium,
irregularity of the bowels, arching of the back and grunting when made
to walk. The addition of fever, as evidenced by rectal hyperthermia, hot
horns, ears, legs and muzzle, serves to diagnose it from simple
impaction.
The _course_ of the malady is the same as in impaction, but with an even
greater tendency to aggravation and a fatal result as the inflammation
entails a paresis of the walls of the viscus which favors a constant
accumulation and dessication of the interlaminar material.
_Treatment._ This must be largely on the same line as in impaction,
laxatives of sulphate of soda, a diet of flaxseed or barley gruel, and
drinking water rendered demulcent with slippery elm. These must be
supplemented by a mustard or other blister to the right hypochondrium,
by soothing doses of nitrate of bismuth (½ ounce), and hypodermic
injections of eserine (1½ grain), veratrine (1 grain), or pilocarpin (3
grains). A current of electricity sent through the right hypochondrium
once or twice a day, will further be desirable. When convalescence has
set in, mashes of wheat bran and middlings may be allowed, to keep up
the flagging vigor, and the patient should be returned to solid, fibrous
food by slow degrees only.