PARTURITION 



281 



Breast Presented, Legs in the Passage. The head may also be 



displaced laterally, i.e. thrown back on to the right or left side of the 

 neck or body. Here again the degree of displacement will vary in different 

 cases. Sometimes the head is merely flexed on the neck, while in others the 

 neck is bent backward and may carry the head as far as the flank (fig. 556). 

 The long neck of the foal tends to render these presentations difficult 

 and sometimes impossible to rectify. On the mode of procedure in these 

 cases the late Dr. Fleming observes: "The principal aim is, of course, to 

 get hold of the head, adjust it, bring it into a favourable position in the 



Fig. 556. Legs and Breast presented 



genital canal, and then terminate delivery. With regard to adjustment 

 the better plan appears to be as follows: Cord the presenting fore-feet, 

 push the foetus into the uterus so as to clear it from the pelvic inlet, 

 pushing either on the flexed neck or chest, and not directly backward, 

 but rather obliquely to the side opposite that to which the head inclines, 

 so as to bring this round to the inlet. If the fore-limbs are in the way 

 of the operator they may also be pushed back into the uterus." The 

 head should then be sought for and brought into position. 



Here the ears are the most accessible parts to which force may be 

 applied; then, if necessary, blunt hooks may be inserted into the orbits, 

 or into the angles of the mouth, and the head drawn forwards by 

 means of cords, while the body is being pushed backwards with a crutch 

 or repeller. When the head has been brought into line with the body, 



