OF THE PELVIS. 3& 



slight mal-conformation, not sufficient to prevent a labor from termi- 

 nating without danger — it may be conceived that these deformities, 

 properly so called, must be pretty rare. 



All deformities of the pelvis may be referred to its excess of am- 

 plitude, its narrowness, or the faulty direction of its axes. 



§. I. Deformity rroni Excess of Amplitude. 



82. It would seem at the first glance, that a very large pelvis 

 ought to be rather advantageous than unfavorable in pregnancy 

 and labor; but observation and reason prove that this is not always 

 the case. 



During gestation, the womb being less completely supported, 

 may be upset, either backwards or forwards, as long as its dimen- 

 sions do not exceed those of the abdominal strait* and it may in- 

 cline in any direction after the fourth month. 



A large pelvis favors the descent of the womb and the prompt 

 termination of labor, and, consequently, exposes the woman to all 

 those accidents which occasionally follow rapid delivery; that is to 

 say, to inertia, inversion of the uterus, and hemorrhage. 



I agree, nevertheless, with Madame Lachapelle, that these incon- 

 veniencies have been exaggerated, that it is generally easy to prevent 

 them, and that the falling of the child, the premature detachment of 

 the placenta, and the rupture of the cord have perhaps never been 

 produced by this cause rather than by some other. 



§. II. Deformity from Want of Amplitude. 



83. It has been incorrectly maintained that the pelvis cannot be 

 contracted in one direction without becoming larger in another, and 

 that, consequently, the circumferences of its straits never vary. 

 Observation has superabundantly demonstrated that in a consider- 

 able number of women, the pelvis retains, after the age of puberty, 

 most of the characters it had in infancy, and that its form approaches 

 more or less to that of the male; and so far, its absolute capacity- 

 remains less than it ought to be in the normal state. 



Besides, since it is fully admitted that there may be excessive 

 capacity, I see not why there should be any repugnance to assert 

 that it may also be too small in all its directions at once; however, 

 this general and regular narrowness is pretty rare, and I have not yet 

 learned that it has ever involved the necessity of a serious operation. 



84. It may be said, therefore, that relative or partial smallness is 

 the only kind that involves real danger; it is most commonly met witk 



* I have seea a retroversion in a young virgin.— M> 



