Weird article. Bad English, no details (opinion of physicians?). Also, I doubt it couldn't be removed with an operation.
If they can remove large parasites from people's brains successfully, then removing a snake from a woman's stomach is a much easier task indeed. All they need to do is somehow sedate the snake before they cut the stomach to remove it. Maybe a needle through the stomach into the snake would work.
Stomach acid is around the same pH level of hydrochloric acid, so there's no way the snake would've survived in a woman's stomach for four years. Even if it could resist the acid, I'm willing to bet it'd either suffocate or starve to death. Also: Dur hur hur innuendo.
That song begins to fall apart after "dog" anyway. Who ever heard of carnivorous goats (not to mention the other livestock)?
But in the song, the goat only has to catch the dog, not eat it. And either way, it is only the old lady's intention for what the animals will do to one another. "She swallowed the goat to catch the dog" doesn't mean the goat will do as she intends for it to do. Just as "She threw the stick for the dog to fetch" doesn't mean the dog will fetch the stick. It all makes perfect sense.
Not sure what jasmine's talking about with the stick, but: [youtube]8a13-JbxC98[/youtube] I could go on to wonder how exactly a each successive animal "catches" its target, but I don't feel like dissecting this children's song any further.
how exactly could a snake live in a person's stomach? I would've assumed either the acid or lack of fresh air would've done it in long before 4 years. I mean, snakes eat other snakes, sure their digestion is much stronger than ours, but that doesn't explain how the snake could be undamaged. And how could they not remove it? Opening a hole in someone's stomach to remove foreign objects isn't a new thing, though this one being alive might cause a problem. EDIT: and besides, the air in your stomach isn't breathable, as it lacks oxygen and is mainly acid gas. so im assuming this article is fake, or an old madeup story, considering its from 1864