A CCI DENTS OF PREGNANCY. 1 9 1 



less ; that viscus was found to be considerably distended with blood — nearly two pails- 

 ful — which was partly coagulated. It contained, in addition, a seven months' foetus sur- 

 rounded by the liquor amnii, and entirely separated from the uterine walls. 



When there is no escape of blood externally, the diagnosis of this acci- 

 dent is most difficult ; but when the haemorrhage is apparent, then arti- 

 ficial delivery should be attempted, and the same treatment adopted as 

 iox post-partwn haemorrhage {which see). • 



Abnormal Retention of the Fcctus. 



It was remarked, when speaking of the normal period of gestation, that 

 this varied within considerable limits, and that the fcetus might remain in 

 the uterus for a comparatively long period beyond the ordinary time, with- 

 out any serious inconvenience to itself or its bearer. But when, from any 

 special' cause, delivery cannot take place, then very grave results may, 

 indeed nearly always, follow. 



Cases of abnormal retention of the fcetus were observed in the last cen- 

 tury by Boutrolle {Le Parfait Bouvier, 1776),* Gervy {Instructions Vet- 

 erinaire, vol. iv., p. 256), and Huzard, senior and junior ; the latter 

 exhibited to the Society of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, in 18 15, the 

 uterus of a Sheep containing a fcetus which had been there for three years. 

 Since that period the literature of the subject has become very extensive, 

 nearly forty instances being recorded in English veterinary journals alone. 

 All the domesticated animals are exposed to this abnormal retention of 

 the foetus, but the Cow far more than any other creature : the frequency 

 in this animal being as twelve to one in the Mare, and ten to one in the 

 Sheep. 



Symptoms and Terminations. — The symptoms at first are, of course, 

 those of pregnancy, until the period of normal parturition, or even during 

 pregnancy when abortion is about to take place. At this period we have 

 nearly all the signs of parturition : enlarged mammae, swollen vulva, pen- 

 dulous abdomen, restlessness and anxiety. Then straining begins, but 

 the OS uteri remains closed, and no fcetus appears. This condition may 

 persist for only a brief period, and be so little marked as to pass unob- 

 served in some cases ; in others it may continue for two, three, or four 

 days, the expulsive efforts gradually diminishing in force and frequency 

 until they altogether disappear. The animal then regains its ordinary 

 state, and, if a Cow, the secretion of milk goes on as if there was nothing 

 the matter. Health may never be impaired from this cause, and the 

 condition of the animal may not be suspected until, if a Cow or a Sheep, 

 it has been fattened and slaughtered by the butcher for food, when the 

 foetus is discovered. It has been observed that oestrum does not appear 

 in such animals, as a rule. The exceptions are rare ; but Rossignol 

 mentions a Cow which retained its foetus for twenty-seven months, but 

 which yet gave an abundance of milk, often exhibited oestrum, and went 

 to the bull, and was at last killed because it became too fat ! 



* Boutroile writes : " There are Cows which are not ' open,' that is to say, which have not sufficient 

 passage for the calf, which remains in the Cow and becomes dried-up hke a ball. The Cow does not die 

 for all this, if it is well cared for ; but many perish when, instead of drying-up, the foetus becomes a mass 

 of corruption. The Cow which carries its dried-up calf in the uterus does not seek the Bull. ... It 

 is necessary to take care of these Cows for ten months or a year, and to feed them well, especially when 

 the calf dries, for they eat little and become extremely emaciated for fifteen days. In about ten months or 

 earlier, if there is any herbage, these kind of Cows are put out to pasture, and they fatten like others ; the 

 butchers find the calf dried up in the calf-bag." 



