PROLAPSE OP THE UTERUS. 689 



a strong hold should be taken of the skin, as the lips of the vulva very 

 readily yield. 



Astringent injections are often tried, and when the prolapse 

 is recent, they may be successful. Straining may be prevented 

 by administering an anodyne, by injection of cocaine into the vagina, 

 or by applying pressure to the loins. 



Koepke saw a prolapse of the vagina, as large as a man's fist, in a three- 

 year-old filly. It occurred suddenly and disappeared without treatment. 



Hewetson saw the prolapse figured (Fig. 443) in a two-and-a-half year 

 old Clydesdale mare. The vagina had several times appeared prominent 

 previous to the actual accident. Reduction could not be effected owing 

 to struggling, so the parts were bathed three times a day with disinfectant 

 or astringent solutions, and on the third day they returned spontaneously. 

 A fortnight later the prolapse again occurred. The former treatment 

 failing, the vaginal wall was scarified. Improvement was slow, and the 

 mare was turned out during the day. Three weeks later the wound shown 

 was healed, and the vagina could be replaced. West's prolapse clamps 

 were applied and left in position for a month. Recovery appeared 

 complete. 



In sows, reposition is assisted by holding up the hind-legs. The 

 prolapsed parts are cleansed, and an attempt made, during an interval 

 when the animal neither strains nor squeals, to thrust back the 

 swelling. The vulva can be closed with a couple of sutures. 



If the prolapsed vagina be greatly swollen, bathing with 2 to 

 3 per cent, solution of alum will assist reposition. 



Bitches often suffer from partial prolapse of the upper wall of 

 the vagina, which is very frequently mistaken for a tumour. A 

 ligature can be applied to the base and the prolapsed part removed. 



III.— PROLAPSE (INVERSION) OF THE UTERUS. 



This accident, frequently seen in cows and swine, but very seldom 

 in other animals, really consists in inversion of the uterus, the surface 

 of the prolapsed organ appearing covered with mucous membrane. 

 The condition, therefore, is somewhat like inversion of the bladder, 

 but can only occur when the uterine horn is dilated or the cervix 

 uteri is relaxed, and in consequence its occurrence is almost 

 exclusively confined to the period immediately following parturition. 

 Partial displacement of the uterus is certainly conceivable, even 

 with a contracted cervix, if the extremity of one or other horn should 

 become intussuscepted (like the finger of a glove). Though the 

 process cannot be detected in the living animal, it probably represents 

 the first step towards so-called prolapse, the straining it occasions 

 finally causing displacement of the entire organ. 



