196 PA THOLOG V OF GESTA TIOJV. 



Treatment. — The treatment of fcetal retention must greatly depend 

 upon circumstances. Wlien the owner of an animal that has reached 

 the termination of gestation and begins to be in labor, perceives that the 

 efforts are weak and irregular, and not sustained, so that birth does not 

 take place after twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight hours, and even when 

 the S3^mptoms of colic are slight and the condition of the creature other- 

 wise satisfactory, the attendance of the veterinary surgeon should not be 

 delayed. The latter will inform himself as to the history of the case, and 

 also its present condition by careful external examination and internal 

 exploration. By the latter he will ascertain, in all probability, the charac- 

 ter of the obstacle to parturition, and be in a position to decide whether 

 delay is necessary, or if he is to promote immediate delivery. In some 

 instances it will be difficult to arrive at a decision. Some practitioners 

 of note recommend abstention from interference, and the adoption of 

 expectant treatment, so long as the os is not sufficiently dilated or the 

 foetal membranes are not ruptured ; and they insist on this course, even 

 when there is a material obstacle present — such as torsion of the uterus 

 or degeneration of the cervix — which renders spontaneous or natural 

 delivery impossible. 



This treatment is based on the relative innocuousness of the foetus in 

 the uterus, even for a very long period, so long as the liquor amnii has 

 not escaped and the air has not penetrated. This course is no doubt 

 most judicious in some cases, and is followed by successful results. All 

 that has to be done is to keep the animal very quiet, in a darkened place 

 if possible, and to administer opium or chloral in full doses, both in 

 draught and enema if need be. 



But Saint-Cyr is of opinion that in the majority of cases, if not in all, it 

 is mor^ preferable to resort to active measures. The expectant method, 

 he says, was all very well when art found itself disarmed in the face of 

 certain accidents, such as torsion of the cervix, which rendered spontane- 

 ous delivery impossible ; but it cannot be urgently insisted upon now, 

 when we are in possession of methods which enable us to overcome these 

 accidents. Therefore he thinks that, as a rule, it is the duty of the obstet- 

 rist to terminate as soon as possible the act of parturition, when it has 

 once cpmmenced. In compliance with this advice, the veterinarian, after 

 informing himself as to the nature of the obstacle opposed to delivery, 

 should act according to the rules applicable to each particular case — 

 rules which will be alluded to hereafter. 



When the membranes are ruptured, then delay may be out of the 

 question, and intervention might require to be prompt^ if serious conse- 

 quences are to be averted. Attempts to effect speedy delivery should be 

 resorted to at once, in the majority of cases, if not in all. Nevertheless, 

 even here we find excellent practitioners recommending abstention, at least 

 for some hours, according to circumstances. For instance, Dupont, of Bor- 

 deaux (Arc/lives Veterinaires, June, 1876), a good authority, does not at all 

 agree with the generally received opinion that death of the foetus must 

 necessarily immediately follow rupture of the membranes, as he has 

 met with many cases in which it has lived for a long interval — twenty- 

 four to thirty-six hours — after the escape of the liquor amnii ; and he 

 does not hesitate to affirm that respiration commences with, and is con- 

 tinued after, the evacuation of this fluid, especially if the young creature 

 is in a natural position — the fore-limbs and nose in the os. He will not say 

 so much for all the positions of the foetus, though he has effected delivery 



