GESTATION. ,3^ 



and the hand, well lubricated with soft soap or, better still, with olive oil, 

 is inserted into the vagina as far as the cervix uteri. In the first months 

 of gestation the uterus descends into the abdomen; consequently, the 

 vagina is longer and more inclined downwards in front : while the foetus 

 is beyond reach of the hand. Towards the fifth or sixth month, the 

 uterus, in expanding in every direction, approaches the vulva, and the 

 canal of the vagina being shortened, it can be perceived in the pelvic 

 cavity. The same manipulatory manoeuvres as were practised in the 

 rectum, may be employed in the vagina at this time, but the results are 

 far from being so satisfactory ; the vaginal examination should, therefore, 

 never be preferred to that by the rectum. 



Ballottement may be resorted to in the smaller animals, by placing 

 them in a vertical position ; but the other signs of pregnancy are usually 

 so manifest in them, that generally there is little difficulty in diagnosing 

 their condition. 



Auscultation has not been much employed in the diagnosis of preg- 

 nancy in the lower animals, though its value in woman is undeniable ; as 

 since its introduction by M. Mayor, of Geneva, in 18 18, its utility has 

 been frequently and successfully put to the test, not only to ascertain 

 whether there was a foetus, but also whether it was alive. In woman, 

 either the uncovered ear or the stethoscope is applied to the abdomen ; 

 the latter is generally preferred, as by it the sound is limited, as well as 

 defined. 



The piilsatio7i of the fcEtal heart ox double batteinent, consists of a rapid 

 succession of short, regular, double pulsations, differing from those of the 

 adult heart in rhythm and frequency ; the sound being like the muffled 

 ticking of a watch, or the pulsations of the heart of a new-born child. In 

 addition to the sounds of the foetal heart, there is also the uterine souffle 

 or placental bruit, CAused by the blood passing through the greatly en- 

 larged vessels of the uterus, particularly at the part to which the placenta 

 is attached ; it is an intermittent whirling sound, heard at an early period 

 of pregnancy, and usually regarded ^s one of its most unequivocal signs. 

 There is, in addition, the pulsation of the umbilical cord ox fmie souffle, 

 heard in certain favorable positions of the foetus; it is synchronous with 

 the fcetal pulsations. 



In the larger animals, ascultation of the abdomen for the purpose of 

 discovering the existence of these sounds is generally unsuccessful, 

 because of the intestinal walls, the rumblings and noises of the intestines, 

 and those of the rumen in the Cow, which entirely mask the bruits of the 

 foetus ; so that it is seldom, if ever, resorted to. Lafosse and others, 

 however, have resorted to it, and apparently with satisfactory results. 

 Lafosse states that, on several occasions, he heard the pulsations of the 

 foetal heart very distinctly in Cows which were six months pregnant; 

 though he also asserts that they cannot ahvays be perceived on ausculta- 

 tion. Hollmann likewise mentions that he has often heard these foetal 

 beats, which varied from 113 to 128 per minute, those of the Cow being 

 64 to 70, and were not markedly influenced by the state of the mother's 

 health ; he acknowledges that they cannot be heard in every instance, 

 even towards the end of pregnancy. Saake, using the stethoscope in the 

 right iliac region, in front and a little above the crural arch, recorded the 

 number of beats of the foetal heart from the twenty-fifth week up to two 

 hours before birth, though he was certain, from their distinctness, that 

 they might have been heard earlier. . In number they varied from 126 to 

 128 per minute, the mother's pulse being 68 to 84. 



