178 PA THOLOG Y OF GESTA TION. 



development of the mammary veins in this animal, and their free commu- 

 nication with others, which permits a ready return of the blood from the 

 hind limbs. 



There is nothing serious in this cedema of pregnancy, as in nearly 

 every case it can be counteracted by exercise or hand-rubbing, and it 

 disappears in a day or two after birth. 



If it causes inconvenience, frictions with soap or turpentine liniments, 

 bandaging, or even slight scarifications, may be employed ; but the 

 occasions for these must be very rare indeed. 



Hydrops Amnii. 



When there is an unusual secretion of the amniotic fluid, it constitutes 

 what has been termed " dropsy of the amnion " {hydrops amjiii or 

 hydramnios) : a condition which, when very marked, is serious for the 

 mother as well as the foetus. A number of cases have been recorded, 

 and Saint-Cyr has enumerated thirteen, ten of which occurred in the 

 bovine, two in the equine, and one in the caprine species. Gierer, who 

 has published an interesting account of several cases, observes that it is 

 most frequently met with in poor, badly-fed animals — and particularly in 

 Cows, in which improper hygiene has produced a morbid excitement of 

 the generative organs ; the result of which is that the act of exosmose 

 and endosmose does not take place equally through the walls of the 

 placentae and placentulae. 



Symptoms. — It is not until the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, or 

 even later, that indications of this condition are evident. Then the abdo- 

 men rapidly enlarges, especially to one side — generally the right ; and in 

 a short time it has acquired a greater volume than it has towards the end 

 of gestation. At this period the health becomes deranged, and colic, 

 with or without tympanitis, is not unfrequent. General debilit}' is so 

 marked, that the animal can scarcely, if at all, stand ; the appetite is 

 lost, rumination is suspended, defecation and micturition are irregular, 

 oedematous swelling of the limbs and abdomen ensue, with dyspnoea, 

 which increases so quickly in intensity that asphyxia is often imminent. 

 The muscular parietes of the abdomen have in some cases been ruptured, 

 and the entire mass of the uterus, with its contents, has formed a subcu- 

 taneous hernia. The ordinary period of gestation may be completed ; or 

 abortion may occur at the seventh or eighth month, when all the indica- 

 tions of such an occurrence are present. The uterine contractions, owing 

 to the relaxed condition of this organ, and its distended and paralyzed 

 fibres, are weak, the pains feeble and unsustained, the os does not dilate, 

 and the act of parturition is consequently tediou^. 



Diagnosis. — The state of the abdomen might lead to the supposition 

 that the case was one of tympanitis or twin pregnancy. Abdominal 

 percussion, and the " touch," as well as auscultation, should aid in 

 diagnosing this condition. Rectal examination will reveal the immense 

 size of the uterus, which forms a great globular mass in the abdominal 

 cavity, and almost completely fills the pelvis, though nothing of a foetus 

 can be detected ; while vaginal exploration discovers the cervix uteri 

 effaced, the os closed, and the posterior part of the uterus projecting 

 more or less into the vagina ; pressure on this prominent portion proves 

 that it contains fluid, though usually no foetus can be felt, as it is beyond 



