CHAPTER IX 



BREEDING AND VETERINARY OBSTETRICS 



VETERINARY obstetrics deals with the care of domes- 

 tic animals during pregnancy, the birth of their young, 

 and the after-treatment. There is probably no phase 

 of veterinary practice that is so little understood by 

 stockmen generally, nor one in which a little knowledge 

 and practice are productive of such good results. In 

 cases of difficult labor, ignorance and bad practice are 

 very likely to bring about injury to both dam and 

 offspring. 



The generative organs of the female consist of the 

 external part called the vulva; from this a tube lined with 

 mucous membrane, called the vagina, leads into the in- 

 terior of the body. At the farther end of the vagina 

 there is a constriction, and in the center of this a small 

 opening passes into the uterus, or womb. At the farther 

 extremity of the womb two tubes, called fallopian tubes, 

 branch off, one to the right and the other to the left. 

 At the end of each fallopian tube is a small round body 

 called the ovary, which contains the ova, or egg -cells. 

 From time to time, after the animal is full grown, a 

 mature egg-cell passes from the ovary into the fallopian 

 tube; if not impregnated, by coming in contact with a 

 male cell, it passes out through the uterus and vagina 

 with the mucus that is secreted from their lining mem- 



(192) 



