INTRODUCTION 
It  was originally intended to work on the 1a te of 
passage of feeding stuff through the alimentary tract of 
ruminants using a fistulated bovine for the purpose. The 
operation of f istulation however was not a success; due to 
a misunderstanding of the instructions the fistula was made 
excessively large so that the cannula did not fit  properly 
and the wound constantly leaked. Contrary to all  expecta­
tions the cow calved and this,  together with the constantly 
leaking wound led to a general emaciation of the cow. It  
was decided that in its present state the cow was of no 
further service so i t  was slaughtered. It  is hoped that 
another bovine may be fi  stulated probably within a year. With 
this in mind i t  has been considered advisable to include in 
this thesis a review of the l iterature on fistulation to 
provide a basis for future work using fistulated bovines. 
The use of fistulation is not a new technique. The 
first record of a fistula. comes from Canada where in 1822 a 
young French Canadian, who had been badiy wounded by gunshot, 
had an operation performed on him which resulted in a fistula. 
R.W. Dougherty (1955). Unfortunately the report does not 
describe the means used to close the fistula but present day 
techniques used for closing fistulae will be described in 
subsequent chapters. 
A f istula may be described simply as an artificial 
opening made into the alimentary tract of an animal as a 
result of an operation and for the purpose of examining the 
contents either visually or by sample of that particular part 
of the alimentary tract.  Fistulae are commonly made into the 
rumen but they may be made into any part of the alimentary 
tract; for example, f istulae have been recorded in the 
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abomasum, duodenum and oesophagus. These latter fistulae 
are always of the closed or cannula type using either plastic 
or rubber cannulas. 
I t  has been pointed out that fistulae can be estab­
lished in any part of the alimentary tract and in ruminants 
varying in age from a few days to maturity. The l ife 
expectancy of these animals is not impaired and in general,  
if  healthy animals are used and if  they have good care there 
is no reason why they should not be considered to be normal 
for al] practical purposes. W. Burrows et al .  (1S46) 
describing an experiment to measure the rate of passage of 
• > foodstuffs through the rumen said "The question of the 
influence of a rumen fistula upon normal function of the 
organ cannot be answered definitely. It  is however believed 
to be inconsequential in most respects provided the opening 
is properly closed with a well f it ted plug which prevents 
leakage of ingesta and at the same time is not irritating to 
the surrounding tissue of the animal, A com parison of the 
gains made in liveweight and the general appearance of the 
fistula ted cattle used in this experiment with those of cattle 
without fistulae which were used in a parallel experiment give 
support to this assumption". That quotation also supports 
R.W. Dougherty (1955) who says that fistulated animals should 
always be considered to be normal healthy animals. Another 
example to support this is seen in an experiment carried out 
by C.C. Balch et al .  (1955) on the secretion of milk low in 
fat content by cows on diets low in hay and high in concen­
trates. In this experiment which lasted 27 weeks two Shorthorn 
cows were used, each was fitted with a large rumen fistula. 
One cow calved 32 days before the experiment and was fistulated 
a week after the start of the experiment. The other cow 
calved 1/ days before the start of the experiment and had 
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been fistulated for over two years. Further i t  appears to 
make no difference what sex of animal is fistulated. Ya 
Pergeer (1952) studying the digestion of different types of 
rations used a fistulated bull throughout the period of the 
experiment during which time the bull was used for natural 
service• 
Hence we see that a fistula in no way d etracts from 
the natural health of an animal nor interferes with i ts natural 
functions. However the post operative period seems to be 
comparatively dangerous. I t  is during this time that infection 
may enter* the unhealed wound. In this connection good man­
agement especially in the tropics, is necessary for fistulated 
animals. Included in good management is the actual technique 
of fistu'iation and closing i t  properly as well as general 
husbandry. Care should be taken to ensure that fistulated 
animals are not overcrowded. If they are to be kept indoors 
then i t  is advisable to keep them in separate stalls,  or if  
pens are to be used, then where possible keep one cow per pen. 
This eliminates the tendency especially in cows to chew each 
others cannula and bung.