no OBSTETRICAL PHYSIOLOGY. 



close. In the foetus of a lamb at the fifty-seventh day it has been found 

 equal to i-6th of the body in weight ; in calves at mid-term and birth 

 to i-29th ; with the foal at birth 1-2 ist, and i-24th in lambs at the same 

 period. In the adult horse it has been found to represent i-75th of the 

 total weight, and i-83d in the ox. 



The intestines, during fcetal life, do not grow in length so as to attain 

 the proportionate dimensions they offer in adult life. In an equine foetus 

 of eight or nine months, the small intestines measured about 15 feet, the 

 caecum 6 7-10 inches, and the large intestines 3)^ feet, or a total of 

 about 20 feet : about i-5th of their length in after life. Shortly after 

 birth they acquire i-3d the length to which they attain when fully devel- 

 oped. The calf at mid-term has only i-ioth the length of the adult 

 intestine : being only sixteen times the length of the body, instead of 

 twenty times. The lamb and kid at birth have i-3d of their intestines 

 complete : their length is seventeen to eighteen times the length of the 

 body, instead of twenty-seven times in adult life 



The general proportions of the body, and especially those of the skel- 

 eton, are not in foetal life what they are after birth. The bones are, 

 relatively to the other parts, more voluminous as a whole, and notably at 

 their extremities, than in the adult. The limbs in particular, and this 

 more so in solipeds and ruminants, have attained a length which is not 

 at all proportionate to that of these parts when their growth is completed. 

 And several bones of the limbs, such as the radial, tibial, metacarpal, 

 and metatarsal bones, are almost fully developed in their dimensions at 

 birth. The following interesting table exhibits the comparative weight 

 of the different bones in the foal and the adult horse. 



The weight is given in grammes (15*432 troy grains). 



SECTION v. PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA IN THE FCETUS. 



With regard to the physiological phenomena which occur during foetal 

 life, we cannot presume to speak in detail in this place. It is, however, 

 interesting, and perhaps necessary, to allude briefly to several of the 

 most important, in order to complete this portion of our subject. 



Nervous Functions. 



The development of the nervous functions is one of these phenomena 

 worthy of attention. It appears certain that the young creature is 



