ABORTION. 245 



and antispasmodics and composing medicines, if there is any agita- 

 tion and tendency to convulsions, will be successively tried; blood- 

 letting is still the most powerful resource to be made use of, but 

 nevertheless it is not to be employed without reserve and caution, for 

 as it does not always prevent miscarriage, it is liable to be charged 

 with the production of an accident which it was impossible for it to 

 prevent; bathing the feet and the hands, and the whole bath, should 

 be avoided while there is any hope remaining oC being able to avoid 

 the expulsion of the ovum; otherwise they may be used with ad- 

 vantage. 



631. Where the hemorrhage is of an alarming character, we 

 have a precious resource in the tampon, which has been too much 

 neglected by the moderns; it not only often arrests flooding, but be- 

 sides this, it does not always hinder pregnancy from going to its full 

 term, as noticed by Gallandat; M. Desorraeaux and Madame Lacha- 

 pelle. Denman, Kok, and Kluyskens have spoken highly of its em- 

 ployment in such circumstances; and like M. Hervez de Chegoin 

 who makes frequent use of it, I for my part have nothing to say ex- 

 cept what is wholly in favor of its employment. Perhaps also the 

 ergot might be efficacious in such cases; but as it favors the ex- 

 pulsion of the ovum, it would not be prudent to make use of it until 

 after having tried all other means. Finally, when abortion is once 

 decided, it requires the same cares as hemorrhage, properly so 

 called, or as convulsions. 



632. To promote the expulsion of the product of conception, 

 when the impossibility of retaining it in the womb is once ascertain- 

 ed, we continue the use of the same means; if the woman is strong 

 we recur to blood-letting; but rest and the horizontal posture are 

 less indispensable; baths and ergot may be administered without fear. 

 Opium administered internally if the pains are very strong; seda- 

 tive ointments, or ointment of belladonna applied to the cervix, if that 

 part is painful, an(^ in a state of spasmodic constriction; and emol- 

 lient injections into the vagina may be of use in some cases. If the 

 ovum is too long in passing through the cervix, it may be of advan- 

 tage to insert the finger into that part and thus assist in the expul- 

 sion; but we should not determine to remove it with the pinces a 

 faux germe of Levret, the placenta hook of Dewees,*'hor any other 

 instrument, unless there should be a pressing necessity to deliver 

 the woman at once, for we run the risk of not getting the whole 

 away, and of being unable subsequently to reach the remaining por- 

 tioiTs which could not be seized at first. 



633. After the escape of the foetus, every thing returns to its na- 

 tural-state, just as it does after a lying-in. The deliverance of the • 



22 



