126 OBSTETRICAL PHYSIOLOGY. 



gland, or into the subcutaneous connective tissue of the inguinal region, 

 forming a large tumor in which the limbs of the young animal can be felt. 

 Another change in the direction of the uterus, which it is most 

 important to consider in the larger animals, is the more or less complete 

 rotation or twisting on its axis of this organ : its upper face becoming the 

 lower, or again become superior after describing an entire circle ; for 

 this torsion occasions serious changes in the form of the cervix and the 

 direction of its cavity. The position of the cervix is the inverse of that 

 of the uterus, being always found on the side opposite to that of the 

 i^ew direction of the organ itsfelf ; it is directed upwards if the uterus is 

 downwards, and if the latter twists to the right or left the cervfx goes to 

 the left or right. Cases are mentioned in which torsion of the cervix 

 itself has been found ; and though it has been argued that the lateral 

 ligaments would not permit this malposition, yet there can be no doubt 

 as to the fact. Lecoq of Bayeux, cited by Rainard, found in a Cow that 

 had died through non-delivery, the upper face of the uterus turned 

 downwards to the floor of the abdomen, the rotation having taken place 

 from right to left ; the utero-vaginal portion was twisted on itself, and 

 the suspensory ligaments were themselves twisted around this part. 

 Numerous cases are recorded which incontestibly prove that during 

 pregnancy, the uterus perform a half or even a complete revolution on 

 itself, producing torsion of the cervix and the posterior part of the 

 vagina, and consequent strangulation of the organ near the neck by the 

 suspensory ligaments ; so that spontaneous delivery of the young animal 

 by the natural pass^ige is impossible. 



Influence on afid Alterations in Position of Neighboring Organs. 



The alterations occurring in the uterus necessarily bring about others 

 in the neighboring organs with which it has mechanical relations. The 

 changed position of the organ in the abdominal cavity has been alluded 

 to. In the Mare and Cow the horn in which the limbs of the foetus is 

 lodged becomes extended and displaces the intestines, pushes the 

 stomach more to the left, rests on the liver, and is an obstacle to the 

 free movements of the diaphragm. The suspensory ligaments of the 

 uterus retain that organ and the cornua in situ ; but when they, in the 

 early stage of gestation, begin to extend forward, the vagina is 

 lengthened, until at a later period, when the size of the foetus forces the 

 uterus backwards into the pelvic cavity, that canal is also pushed back 

 and forms a circular enlargement in the vulva. Its lining membrane, 

 owing to the compression and the increased circulation of the blood 

 through it, assumes a violet or dark -brown tint, and appears to become 

 thickened, while it secretes a larger quantity of viscid mucus. 



The pressure the gravid uterus exercises on the blood-vessels of the 

 hind limbs and the vulva and rectum, retards the venous and lymphatic 

 circulation ; so that towards the end of gestation, and especially in the 

 Mare, there is considerable oedema of these parts. This oedema is all 

 the more marked, in the Cow as well as in the Mare, when the com- 

 pression is greatest at the posterior parts of the abdomen, towards the 

 commencement of the saphena and mammary veins. 



The oedema is always greatest in those cases, somewhat rare, it is true, 

 in which there is a giving-way of the abdominal parietes near the crural 

 arch above one of the mammae, when the uterus forms a hernia beneath 

 the skin ; then there is seen an enormous swelling, at the upper part of 

 the limb. 



