DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 179 



to water 50 piiFts. This may l)e repeated daily. When there is no 

 spontaneous opening it is injudicious to interfere, as tht' (hinder from 

 the retention of the fetus is less than that from septic fermentation 

 in the enormous fetal sac when that has been opened to the air. 



MOLES. OR ANIDIAN MONSTERS. 



These are evidently ])r()ilucts (rf conception, in which the imprep^- 

 nated ovum has failed to develop naturally, and presents only a cha- 

 otic mass of skin, hair, bones, muscles, etc., attached to the inner 

 surface of the woml) by an umbilical cord, which is itself often shriv- 

 eleil and wasted. They are usually accompanied with a well-devel- 

 oped fetus, so that the mole may be looked upon as a twin which has 

 undergone arrest and vitiation of development. They are expelled 

 by the ordinary process of parturition, and usually at the same time 

 with the normally developed oflfspring. 



CYSTIC DISEASE OF THE WALLS OF THE WOMB, OR VESICULAR MOLE. 



This condition appears to be attributable to hypertrophy (enlarge- 

 ment) of the villi on the inner surface of the womb, which become 

 greatly increased in number and hollowed out internally into a series 

 of cysts, or pouches, containing liquid. Unlike the true mole, there- 

 fore, they appear to be disease of the maternal structure of the womb 

 rather than of tlie product of conception. Rodet, in a case of this 

 kind, which had produced active labor pains, quieted the disorder 

 with anodynes anrl effected a recovery. When this can not be done, 

 attempts may be made to remove the mass with the ecraseur or other- 

 wise, following it up with antiseptic injections, as advised under the 

 last heading. 



DROPSY OF THE WOMB. 



This appears as a result of some disease of the walls of the womb, 

 but has been frequently observed as the result of infection after sex- 

 ual congress, and has, therefore, been confounded with pregnancy. 

 The symptoms are those of pregnancy, but without any movements of 

 the fetus and without the detection of any solid body in the womb 

 when examined with the oiled hand in the rectum. At the end of 

 four or eight months there are signs of parturition or of freciuent 

 straining to pass urine, and after a time the liquid is di.scharged clear 

 and watery, or muddy, thick, and fetid. The hand introduced into 

 the womb can detect neither fetus nor fetal membrane. If the neck 

 of the womb closes, the liquid may accumulate a second time, or even 

 a third, if no means are taken to disinfect it or to correct the tend- 

 ency. The l)est resort is to remove any diseased product that may l)e 

 found attached to the walls of the womb and to inject it daily with a 

 warm solution of carbolic acid 2 drams, chlori«l of zinc one-half 



