TURNING. 465 



most painful and complicated version! Who shall say how far the 

 temerity of certain persons shall carry them? Has not a surgeon in 

 one of the colonies lately had the hardihood to perform the hypo- 

 gastric cesarian operation simply because turning appeared to him to 

 be too difficult in an arm presentation, and what is still more sur- 

 prising, to boast of his conduct, as a model to be followed? It is 

 only by remembering, that, in the sciences, where men are always 

 to be found who invariably substitute for the bounds of the possible 

 the limits of their own knowledge and capacity, that we are enabled 

 to conceive of such scandalous practices. 



As long as the accoucheur is not in possession of certain proof of 

 the child's death, he has no right, under any pretext, to mutilate it; 

 and if ever the presence of the arm could really prevent the intro- 

 mission of the physician's hand, it would be far better to follow the 

 advice of Bodin, and perform the vaginal cesarian operation, than 

 to have recourse to embryotomy. Even although the child be dead, 

 we should proceed in the same manner, and, in the first place, put in 

 requisition blood-letting, the bath, injections, ointments, indeed all 

 sorts of relaxing and sedative measures. 



General Recapitulation on the Manoeuvre. 



1047. In the manceuvre, all the positions of the head may be re- 

 duced to two; all the positions of the side belong to the second stage 

 of the man(Buvre for the head positions; all the positions of the back 

 and of the sternum should be reduced to shoulder positions; and all 

 positions of the shoulder are at first converted into positions of the 

 feet. In turning, therefore, there are, in fact, but two positions which 

 it is essential to study profoundly, and consequently but two manoeu- 

 vres which it is indispensable to know well: further, as these two 

 manceeuvres differ only in requiring the employment of a different 

 hand, as in reality the right hand does not manoeuvre differently from 

 the left, it follows that the whole manoeuvre in labors is reduced to 

 the rules which were laid down in speaking of version by the feet in 

 positions of the vertex. I am aware that, as thus proposed, the 

 question will not be always exactly understood; but I also doubt 

 whether those to whom these general rules will not suffice, will be 

 able to make much out of the most elaborate explanations. In the 

 detailed applications there are an infinity of shades which words can- 

 not describe, but which are easily guessed at by an intelligent man, 

 or which practice alone may teach him to discriminate. 



