OBSTETRICS. 



73 



A new observatory was built in 1883 ; lat, + 41 23' 

 22". 1, long. 4" 55 50". 6 W., 480 ft. above sea-level, 

 containing a 12-in. Clark equatorial, mounted in 1884, 

 and an 8-inch Repsold meridian circle, mounted in 

 1885. 



Wittefs Point, N. Y., Observatory of the U. S. 

 Army Engineers' School of Application ; intended for 

 instruction of engineer officers in the applications of 

 practical astronomy to geodesy. Originally built in 

 1868, lat + 40 47' 17". 7, long. 4" 55 7'.5 W. ; re- 

 built in 1879, lat. 40 47' 21 ".3, long. 4" 55 7'. 7 W. 

 Instruments : a 5}-in. equatorial, objective by Clark, 

 mounting by Fauth ; a 3.8-in. equatorial by Tulley ; 

 a Lingke combined transit and zenith telescope of 

 2j inches; a 2.6-in. Stackpole Russian transit, also 

 adapted for use as a zenith telescope ; a 2-in. Trough- 

 ton transit; a 2-in. Stackpole transit; and a 2.6-in. 

 Wiirdemann zenith telescope ; chronograph, chrono- 

 meters, and sextants. Results of observations for time 

 and latitude, and an extensive series of observations of 

 aurnrse are published in General Orders. 



Williams/own, Mass. , Observatory of Williams Col- 

 lege, lat. + 42 42' 49", long. 4" 52 53'. 5 W. The old 

 or Hopkins Observatory was built in 1836-37 (dedi- 

 cated June 12. 1838), and furnished with a 7J-in. 

 Clark equatorial and 3}-in. Troughton & Simms 

 transit. The Field Memorial Observatory was built 

 in 1882 and a 4|-in. Repsold meridian circle was 

 mounted on June 24 of that year. Directors : Albert 

 Hopkins, 1836; T. H. Safford, 1879 (?). 



Ypsi/'iiiti, Mich., State Normal School Observa- 

 tory, lat, + 42? 13', long. 5" 34 m 22 1 W. ; 4-in. Clark 

 equatorial, 1 J-in. Gurley transit. 



Reference*: Loomis, Recent Proyreis of Astronomy (N. 

 Y., 1850) ; Andre A Augot, L' Aslronumie pratique el let 

 ohtervatuirc* en Europe et en Amerique, troititme partie 

 (Paria, 1877); Holclen, " Reports of Astronomical Observa- 

 tories, 1879, 1880" (Smithtonian Report*, 1879, 1880); 

 "Progress in Astronomy" [1879-1884] (Smit/uonian Re- 

 port*, 1880-1884); Winlock, "Progress in Astronomy" 

 [1885-1888] tSmithtanian Report*. 1885-1888); Lancaster, 

 Lute generate del obiervatmra et det tutronomet (Bruxelles, 

 1887). 



OBSTETRICS is that branch of medical science 

 which treats of midwifery, child-bearing, parturition, 

 pregnancy. Midwifery has always been regarded as 

 having only to do with the needs of the woman in her 

 hours of delivery ; hence, according to ancient laws, the 

 midwife was exported to care for the woman at this 

 time only, and when occasion demanded aid prior to or 

 j'f'tcr the accomplishment of the birth of the child she 

 was required to call in a physician or surgeon as the 

 ease might be. Custom subsequently more or less 

 joined to medical treatment of parturition the care of 

 the diseases of women, and also of children, but since 

 the study of gynaecology has so wonderfully progressed, 

 the advanced schools of medicine have separated these , 

 subjects, and very judiciously, in many instances, thej I 

 are entrusted to separate departments for study. 



The word nbii'trif is derived from the Latin obstare, 

 to stand before ; literally the obstetrician is one who 

 stands before the woman to render her aid in her de- 

 livery of a child. The art of delivery has long claimed 

 the attention of all classes, nor is this to be wondered 

 at when we consider that child-bearing is connected 

 with the foundation of the welfare of all races, and 

 that during a fixed time the pregnant woman is an 

 object of the greatest solicitude. At first, as was 

 natural, women alone were regarded as best fitted to 

 be able to render the needed service, and hence mid- 

 wifery or obstetrics was relegated to the care of women, 

 and so remained for ages. Indeed, at the present 

 time, in many lands, women only are permittee! to be 

 present on such occasions, and, in fact, some tribes re- 

 gard these matters as unfit for the notice of any save 

 the lowest members of their community, and even re- 

 gard the condition and presence of the pregnant 

 woman as unlucky and likely to cause evil results. 



The earliest allusion to the obstetric art is in ancient 

 Jewish history. At first, it appears, there was re- 

 luctance to interfere during labor, and only such aid 

 was given as became absolutely necessary in the sepa- 

 ration of the child, leaving everything else to the 

 efforts of nature. But as time elapsed, people in 

 attendance on such occasions involuntarily used their 

 common sense in aid of the efforts of the woman, and 

 thus, from observation and experience, some became 

 more skilled and regarded as specially able to aid in 

 the delivery. Again, from seeing what nature unaided 

 could do in difficult labors, they were encouraged to 

 imitate these efforts or aid them, and finding such aid 

 to be followed by good results, a similar plan was em- 

 ployed in subsequent cases at an earlier moment. 

 Thus, step by step, was built up the obstetric art. and 

 then arose a skilled band whose aid was demanded and 

 relied upon when the emergency occurred. 



In all history we find but little allusion to the art or 

 any advances therein until the advent of Hippocrates, 

 about 450 B. c. Up to this tirn as there was but 

 little study of anatomy very little was known of the 

 structure and relation of the parts to each other. 

 Upon obstetrical subjects we find that Hippocrates 

 wrote treatises entitled De Natura Muliebri, De 

 Mulierum Morbis, and De Superfaetatwme, showing that 

 in his time something at least must have been known 

 of the diseases to which women are specially subject, as 

 also upon the subject of twins or triple pregnancy. 

 His views of conception and generation, though for 

 many years regarded as correct, have been shown in 

 the light of modern investigation to be very erroneous. 

 Evidently, he had obtained in some way, possibly by 

 the study of inferior animals, a knowledge of the ovum 

 and its mechanical expulsion. Of course difficult de 

 livery would be most thoroughly investigated, and we 

 find also that he treats of the various ways by which 

 the child presents for delivery and alludes to the differ- 

 ent positions of the placenta or after-birth. 



A singular belief which still retains a great deal of 

 vitality is alluded to in his work entitled De Natura 

 Pueri. This is that the foetus delivered at the seventh 

 month of pregnancy has a better chance for life than 

 one at the eighth month. A similar belief is also to 

 be found in a rabbinical treatise of the third century, 

 called Midraxh Rabbnh, a work on the book of Exo- 

 dus by Rabbah, which says "a child can live at seven, 

 months and not at eight. ' ' 



At this time it appears that when the midwife failed 

 in delivering the woman the aid of the surgeon was 

 demanded to accomplish it by force, and we find that 

 Hippocrates counsels the use of means to break up 

 the head of the child, and the extraction of the body 

 by hooks, etc. The Caesarean section, or opening the 

 womb through the abdomen, would appear to liave 

 been an operation performed in very early times. 

 Upon this subject, those who are desirous of investi- 

 gating more thoroughly should read the valuable essay 

 by Robert P. Harris, M. D., of Philadelphia. It has 

 been believed, however, that in all cases such an opera- 

 tion was only attempted after the death of the woman, 

 while in recent times we have records of instances 

 where women have been subjected to it not once but 

 twioe, and have survived to a good age. This state- 

 ment must be taken with some allowance, for we find 

 in the Jewish Mishna, a collection written about A. D. 

 180. the question debated as to whether a woman was 

 unclean who had the child taken by an operation from 

 her side. Hence it is probable that cases had occurred 

 where a mother had survived this ordeal. 



About the Vllth century Paulus JSgineta appears 

 to have practised midwifery, and we have quotations 

 from him as to the delivery of the child where nature 

 had been unable to accomplish the task. It is remark- 

 able to what extent people were 'ed to believe in 

 multiple births, prodigies, etc. We can in the light 

 of these days understand the reports of foetuses being 

 passed by the bowels, from abdominal abscesses, or 



