434 DYSTOCIA. 



of the other in pressing upon the hypogastrium. M. Major thinks 

 that we can mancEUvre with the same hand in all kinds of positions, 

 but always in conformity to the rule indicated above. For this end 

 we have only to vary the posture of the woman, to place her on one 

 side or the other, or on the back or abdomen, accordingly as the 

 abdominal surface of the foetus, for example, looks to the right, to the 

 left, in front, or to the rear; but I do not see what advantage such a 

 course can have over the one generally pursued in France. 



983. Now the hand being chosen, in order to let it slip easily 

 through the passages, render its introduction easy, and guard against 

 the infection of contagious diseases, we should cover it with some 

 fatty or mucilaginous substance. It may be immersed in oil or 

 mucilage, greased with butter, lard, or the white of eggs, &c. may 

 be used: whichever of these substances is selected, it seems to me 

 right always to follow the counsel of Roederer, that is to say, only 

 to anoint the back of the fingers and hand, which alone exert 

 any friction upon the parts of the mother, while the other surface 

 of the hand has to do only with bodies that are already but too 

 slippery. The forearm ought also to be greased as far as its upper 

 end: if the part of the child we are to pull by were at the vulva, 

 or not high up in the vagina, this precaution might be rather injurious 

 than useful, and the hand should be applied quite dry. 



SECTION 2. 



Version by the Head. 



983. Long imbued with the idea that the positions of the head 

 were the only ones which admitted of a fortunate delivery, physi- 

 cians only thought, in the first place, of restoring that part to the 

 straits, when the child presented otherwise than by the head: the 

 precept of Hippocrates was followed, and they endeavored to bring 

 down the head not only in positions of the shoulder and other 

 regions of the trunk, but also in those of the breech, knees, and 

 even of the feet themselves, which were then looked upon as very 

 dangerous. Celsus showed that the foetus might escape with its 

 lower extremities foremost; but version by the head was not the less 

 regarded as the safest and most practicable process, until the time 

 of Franco and A. Pare. Since the time of Guillemeau, on the 

 contrary, it has been almost wholly abandoned, and at present the 

 standard authors scarcely mention it, except for the purpose of con- 

 demning it. Notwithstanding what a few modern authors have said 

 about it, no person in France has felt it a duty to put it in practice. 



