192 DESTRUCTION OF THE PELVIC GIRDLE. 



hand between the skin and the deeper structures and forcibly 

 separate it from the foetal body backward until the last rib 

 is passed, as shown at the curved line on the posterior border 

 of the last foetal rib in Plate XXX. Force the finger 

 tips through the abdominal wall behind the last rib and 

 passing, along the entire border of each posterior rib, separate 

 the abdominal walls from the ribs and sternum. After the 

 abdominal muscles have been detached from the posterior 

 ribs and sternum, and the foetus has been eviscerated, rotate 

 the thorax upon its long axis which will cause a division of 

 the vertebral column near the dorso-lumbar articulation and 

 the anterior portion of the foetus falls away. Secure the 

 two posterior feet with cords, unless this has already been 

 done, spread the detached skin which has been pushed back 

 from the thorax, carefully over the amputation stump of the 

 lumbar vertebrae, repel these by means of the hand while 

 an assistant draws upon the cords attached to the feet, push 

 the remnant of the foetal trunk into the uterus and advance 

 the feet along the genital passages, thus converting the 

 remnant into a posterior presentation. Ordinarily this 

 would result in a lumbo-pubic, which should be converted 

 into the lumbo-sacral position when its extraction can be 

 readily brought about. 



50. DESTRUCTION OF THE PELVIC GIRDLE IN THE 

 ANTERIOR PRESENTATION. 



PLATE XXXI. 



Object. In somewhat rare instances perhaps more fre- 

 quently in the cow the pelves of the mother and foetus be- 

 come interlocked, the antero-external angle of the foetal 

 ilium I', becoming locked with the shaft of the maternal 

 ilium I at C in such a manner that any safe degree of trac- 

 tion fails to dislodge it. 



Technic. Remove one anterior limb subcutaneously, 47, 

 and eviscerate, 53, through an opening made by the removal 



