178 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



been clearly traced to the concentration of the mother's mind on cor- 

 responding injured organs in herself. Sire and dam alike tend:- to 

 reproduce their individual defects which predispose to disease, but 

 the dam is far more liable to perpetuate the evil in her progeny whicli 

 was carried while she was individually enduring severe suffering 

 caused by such defects. Hence, an active bone spavin or ringbone, 

 causing lameness, is more objectionable than that in which the in- 

 flammation and lameness have both passed, and an active ophthalmia 

 is more to be feared than even an old cataract. For this reason all 

 active diseases in the breeding mare should be soothed and abated 

 as early as possible. 



EXTRA-UTERINE GESTATION. 



It is rare in the domestic animals to find the fetus developed else- 

 where than in the womb. The exceptional forms are those in which 

 the sperm of the male, making its w^ay through the womb and Fallo- 

 pian tubes, impregnates the ovum prior to its escape, and in which 

 the now vitalized and growing ovum, by reason of its gradually in- 

 creasing size, becomes imprisoned and fails to escape into the womb. 

 The arrest of the ovum may be in the substance of the ovary itself 

 (ovarian pregnancy), in the Fallopian tube (tubal pregnancy), or 

 when by its continuous enlargement it has ruptured its envelopes so 

 that it escapes into the cavity of the abdomen, it may become attached 

 to any part of the serous membrane and draAV its nourishment di- 

 rectly from that (abdominal pregnancy). In all such cases there is 

 an increase and enlargement of the capillary blood vessels at the 

 point to which the embryo has attached itself so as to furnish the 

 needful nutriment for the growing offspring. 



All appreciable symptoms are absent, unless from the death of the 

 fetus, or its interference with normal functions, general disorder and 

 indications of parturition supervene. If these occur later than the 

 natural time for parturition, they are the more significant. There 

 may be general malaise, loss of appetite, elevated temperature, acceler- 

 ated pulse, with or without distinct labor pains. Examination with 

 the oiled hand in the rectum will reveal the w^omb of the natural, 

 unimpregnated size and shape and with both horns of one size. Fur- 

 ther exploration may detect an elastic mass apart from the womb, in 

 the interior of which may be felt the characteristic solid body of the 

 fetus. If the latter is still alive and can be stimulated to move, the 

 evidence is even more perfect. The fetus may die and be carried 

 for years, its soft structures becoming absorbed so as to leave only the 

 bones, or by pressure it may form a fistulous opening through the 

 abdominal walls, or less frequently through the vagina or rectum. In 

 the latter cases the best course is to favor the expulsion of the foal and 

 to wash out the resulting cavity with a solution of carbolic acid 1 part 



