202 PA THOLOG Y OF GESTA TION. 



toms indicate a very serious condition. This usually depends on the 

 period of gestation at which the accident occurs. 



Generally, abortion takes place without any premonitory indications, 

 and the animal may be as well and lively as usual up to the moment when 

 the foetus is expelled ; and the expulsion itself is so sudden, so prompt, 

 and accomplished with so little visible effort or disturbance, that* the acci- 

 dent in most cases receives very little, if any notice. It often occurs 

 during the night, and wonder is often expressed at finding in the morning 

 the aborted foetus, generally contained in its intact envelopes, lying behind 

 an animal which, on the previous evening, looked perfectly well, and even 

 now is so cheerful and unaltered, and its functions so unimpaired, that it 

 can scarcely be believed that it has been the subject of such a mishap. 

 Even the sentiment of maternity, which is so strongly developed in ani- 

 mals, as Saint-Cyr justly remarks, is not awakened in favot of the expelled 

 foetus, and the mother shows the utmost indifference to it, even treading 

 on it as if it were in no way related to her. 



When this simple abortion has taken place during the day, it has been 

 noted that the flanks fall in a little, the abdomen descends, the vulva and 

 vagina slightly dilate, and there escapes from them a glutinous, sometimes 

 sanguinolent, fluid, with which the foetus is passed almost without effort. 

 We have said that the ovum or foetus is generally expelled in its intact 

 membranes ; this more frequently happens at an early stage of pregnancy. 

 Sometimes, however, the amnion ruptures at the commencement of the 

 abortion, and the embryo or foetus escapes with a small quantity of liquor 

 amnii, the envelopes being rejected soon after, or in some instances they 

 may be retained in the uterus, and thus constitute a source of danger, the 

 animal not making any effort to get rid of them. This complicated abor- 

 tion occurs more frequently at the later stages of pregnancy, and more 

 resembles normal birth than j-/w//(? abortion, which is more often witnessed 

 in the first half of gestation. Nevertheless, we have the latter happen so 

 late sometimes as the seventh or eighth month in the larger animals. It 

 is observed more particularly in those which are debilitated from any 

 cause ; but, at the same time, animals which appear in the very best 

 health are often the victims of simple abortion. 



So little disturbance does this kind of abortion cause, that the animal 

 can be treated in every way as if nothing had happened ; though it is 

 more judicious to give it a little extra care for some hours at least. 



In what has been termed laborious, difficult, or complicated abortion, 

 which is often due to external causes, such as injuries, the precursory 

 symptoms are generally well marked, and vary somewhat according as 

 the foetus may be dead or alive. The animal suddenly appears dull and 

 peculiarly dejected \ or it is restless, uneasy, and continually moving 

 about ; if pregnancy is advanced and the foetus is alive and strong, its 

 movements are, on watching the abdomen attentively, perceived to be 

 frequent, violent, and disordered, but they soon become feeble and un- 

 frequent, and cease altogether when the foetus has succumbed. The 

 appetite is lost, a plaintive neigh in the Mare, moan in the Cow, or bleat 

 in the Sheep, is emitted every now and again ; the pulse is quick, small, 

 and hard as in haemorrhage ; progression is difficult and unsteady ; the 

 physiognomy is anxious, and respiration hurried. When the foetus is 

 alive there is perhaps less prostration ; and, more particularly with the 

 Mare, there appears to be much abdominal pain. The animal often looks 

 anxiously towards the flanks, paws with its fore feet and stamps with its 



