ii INTRODUCTION. 



employed in technical speech by the Veterinarian, yet it is not so cor- 

 rectly applied with respect to animals as it is to mankind ; inasmuch as, 

 according to one derivation, it implies to " stand before " (from obstare^ 

 to stand before), whereas, in aiding in the birth of- animals, the operator 

 generally stands behind the creature which is in difficulty ; though if the 

 derivation from obstare^ which also means to "oppose," "hinder pro- 

 gress," " offer obstruction," be accepted, then the term is quite justifiable 

 and expressive. The term " accouchment," so often used when speak- 

 ing of the birth of a human being, is not always appropriate when em- 

 ployed with reference to this event in animal life, as the larger domesti- 

 cated creatures are more frequently delivered of their young in a standing 

 than a recumbent position. 



Instead of Obstetrics, the terms " Tokology " (rozo?, a birth, from 

 rcxTEfv, to bring forth, and loyn:;^ a discourse), " Tokognosia," " Toka- 

 rexeologia," and " Toxarexis " — the practice of Tokology — have been 

 introduced ; but they are not sufficiently familiar to warrant their adop- 

 tion at present, and we have therefore deemed it advisable to retain the 

 better-known word. 



The term Obstetrics is not, as has been already shown, limited to the 

 act of parturition — certainly one of the most important, and yet difficult, 

 of all the animal functidns — but includes not only rules which should be 

 followed in order to remove or remedy the material obstacles or accidents 

 which may hinder the accomplishment of that act, and likewise embraces 

 every thing connected with the health and preservation of the female 

 parent and the young creature while they are in the closest relations with 

 each other before parturition, as well as for some time after their dis- 

 junction. 



It therefore essentially comprehends a mechanical portion, which con- 

 sists in devising means for surmounting obstacles that may impede the 

 birth of the young animal ; and, scarcely less important, a thorough 

 knowledge of those complex functions and conditions connected with 

 conception, generation, and the parturient state. The Veterinarian, then, 

 to be a successful obstetrician, must possess special and varied information 

 of a highly scientific kind in the domain of anatomy, physiology, hygiene, 

 pathology, surgery, etc., and to this must be added the benefits to be 

 derived from experience -, for, as has been well remarked by Saint-Cyr, 

 in proportion as his intervention is salutary and beneficial when it is 

 intelligent and opportune, so may it be fatal and disastrous when it is 

 irrational or even inopportune. His knowledge of the subjects above 

 named must be grouped in a certain order, so as to form a doctrinal 

 code, and to constitute a perfect science, having its object, its rules, and 

 its means perfectly defined. 



The science of Veterinary Obstetrics, then, demands a perfect acquaint- 

 ance with the anatomy and physiology of the generative organs and the 



