ACCIDENTS OF PREGNANCY. 205 



be in a more or less perfect state of preservation. If it has perished re- 

 centl}'-, it is little if at all altered ; its skin is firm, white, elastic, and even ; 

 and its flesh white, rather firm, and odorless. But when death has taken 

 place some days previously, and the air has had access to the uterine cav- 

 ity, then there are indications of putrefaction — all the more marked as 

 the interval is prolonged since death occurred. The foetus is swollen and 

 emphysematous, and exhales a putrescent odor, while. the hairs, and even 

 the hoofs, are easily removed. When the air has not entered the' uterus, 

 the foetus may present a withered, wrinkled, mummified appearance. 



Saint-Cyr draws attention to a fact which we have already alluded to on 

 several occasions, but which is worth alluding to again. It is that, as a 

 general rule, the death of a foetus brings about its expulsion in a short 

 time ; and not its own expulsion alone, but also, in multiparous animals, that 

 of all the uterus may contain. This rule, however, is far from being absolute. 

 We have already seen that a dead fcetus may be retained for a very long 

 time ; and at the autopsy of such multiparous creatures as the Bitch, Cat, 

 and Sow, which have died or been killed while pregnant, it is not rare to 

 find, between two perfectly healthy and well-developed foetuses, one which 

 had been arrested in its growth, and has evidently been dead for a long 

 time, and yet its presence has occasioned no disturbance. Besides, 

 Bitches and Sows, and even the uniparous Mare and Cow, at the usual 

 period of parturition will bring forth, along with well-developed and living 

 young, one or more dead foetuses whose general appearance testifies that 

 they have ceased to live for a long time. These facts prove that the 

 diseased condition, or even the death, of one or more of the foetuses in an 

 animal does not always prevent gestation from following its regular course. 



Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of abortion, easy in some cases, is in others 

 difficult and complicated ; and as an error in distinguishing this accident 

 may result in serious consequences to the veterinary obstetrist, no less 

 than to the animals confided to his care, as Saint-Cyr properly remarks, 

 it is well that it should receive attention. This excellent authority judi- 

 ciously presents the problem in three different aspects : i. Prognosticate 

 a possible, but not yet imminent abortion ; 2. Distinguish an abortion 

 taking place from other accidents or diseases with which it might be con- 

 founded ; 3. Recognize that an abortion has taken place. 



I. Prognosticate an Abortion. — Suppose the owner of a pregnant animal 

 asks such a question as, *' Will this creature carry its young the full time V 

 this must be answered by another question, " What leads you to think it 

 will not ?" For there can be no doubt that, as has been already asserted, 

 there is a special predisposition in certain animals to abort from the most 

 trifling cause, and indeed without any evident cause at all ; and yet they 

 offer no visible indication of this tendency. In this aspect of the ques- 

 tion, it is always judicious to remember certain maxims, the most important 

 of which is that relating to several previous miscarriages, before giving an 

 opinion as to the probability of such an accident ; and this opinion should 

 be based on exact knowledge of the cause capable of compromising the 

 issue of pregnancy to which the animal has 4Deen or is then exposed. 

 The inquiry should be as complete as possible, and then an opinion ought 

 to be carefully given ; as many of the causes of abortion are so very imper- 

 fectly known, and so many circumstances may modify the predicted 

 result, that in the majority of cases it is only permissible to hazard pre- 

 sumptions which, after all, are more or less uncertain. 



