_Characters._ The biliary calculi of solipeds are of all sizes and
shapes. When numerous they are mostly the size of a pin’s head (Lucet).
Birnbaum found in one animal 400 like peas. Dieckerhoff has repeatedly
found four or five of the size of a hazelnut. Verheyen found one as
large as an apple and says one exists at the Berlin Veterinary College
which weighs several pounds. Rigot found 90 in the biliary ducts of an
old horse, and Zundel records the death of a stallion of twenty-six
years from multiple gall stones.
The calculi may be little larger than grains of coarse sand. When larger
and solitary they are mostly globular or mulberry shaped; if many are
together they have become polygonal by friction. In other cases notably
with distomata they form hollow tubular incrustations on the bile ducts,
and contain a thick grumous bile. They are usually of a green color, but
may be yellowish brown, yellow, or whitish. When cut across they present
a nucleus enclosed in successive layers, each successive one often
differing from the last in color. Their specific gravity is low, some
will even float in water when taken from the ducts, and all float when
dried. Their composition is variable but chiefly cholesterine, bile
acids, resin and pigments, an albumoid matter, with lime salts, etc. The
nucleus may be the remains of a dead parasite, epithelial cells, blood,
pus, mucus, etc. The outer layers are usually the hardest.
There may be attendant hypertrophy of the liver, cirrhosis, amyloid and
other degenerations, catarrh of the biliary ducts, and distension or
(according to Birnbaum) rupture of the portal vein.
_Symptoms._ There are no reliable diagnostic symptoms apart from the
colics which accompany the obstruction of a bile duct by a passing
calculus. These in the main resemble the colic of ordinary indigestion,
but they may be complicated by unusual depression and nervous
prostration. There may be drooping of the head, ears and eyelids, watery
eyes, resting the head on the manger or pushing it against the wall. The
urine is liable to be red or reddish (Jobelot), and if it or the mucosæ
show a yellowish tinge it is strongly suggestive. There may be
constipation or diarrhœa. The colics are severe and may last for several
days (Seaman, Lucet, Burgoin) without fever and recover abruptly when
the stone passes into the duodenum. They recur, however, with the
impaction of another stone, and this intermittent feature, with the
marked prostration, and the access of slight jaundice with each colic
furnishes the best means of diagnosis.
_Treatment._ During the access of colic give a full dose (1 to 2 lbs.)
sulphate of soda in warm water along with some active antispasmodic
(belladonna, lobelia, chloroform, ether), and foment the loins and
hypochondriac regions. Olive oil in large doses (1 to 2 quarts) has been
found effective. Salicylate of soda in full doses is beneficial in
stimulating the biliary secretion, diluting the bile, and securing some
measure of antisepsis in both bowels and liver.
In the intervals between the colics, sodium salicylate, sodium or
potassium carbonate, or olive oil in continuous doses may assist in
disintegrating the calculi or passing them on. Chloroform tends to break
them up by dissolving the cholesterin. But any such treatment must be
accompanied by the abundant ingestion of water, and this is often best
secured by a run in a rich green pasture. In the absence of pasturage,
succulent fruits, and roots, ensilage, mashes, and gruels may be
advantageously substituted, and conjoined with systematic exercise in
the open air.