240 NORMAL PARTURITION. 



render relief more difficult. The veterinary surgeon should be sent for, 

 as his knowledge and practised manipulative skill will, in the majority of 

 cases, bring the most complicated labor to a prompt and happy termina- 

 tion — preserving the mother, and often the produce. 



This appeal to the veterinarian is not always made, however, until the 

 owner, his servants and neighbors, or the empiric, have done great dam- 

 age, and caused the loss of valuable time ; then he is sent for, but now 

 the case may be one of extreme difficulty or hopelessness, from exhaus- 

 tion or injury. 



We shall only notice in this place what has been designated abrupt^ 

 tumultuous, disordered, or false labor {^partus prcecipitatus) , and protracted 

 labor; both due to anomalies in the expelling forces. 



1. Tumultuous Labor. — In this kind of labor the act of parturition is 

 deranged and precipitate ; and though the pains are excessive and fre- 

 quent, yet no progress appears to be made, the parts not being prepared, 

 and the cervix is often in a state of spasmodic contraction, rigid, and 

 painful. Otherwise the maternal organs are well formed, the passage 

 roomy enough, and the foetus in a good position. 



Sometimes the uterus itself is in a state of contraction, the contractions 

 assuming the opposite direction of those occurring in healthy labor, — 

 commencing at the cervix they pass towards the fundus of the uterus. 



This condition, in which the phenomena are at first alarming, is most 

 frequently observed in young, well-fed, vigorous, irritable animals, and 

 especially primiparae, which are excited and troubled at the first pains, 

 and give themselves up to violent expulsive efforts which hinder the 

 natural course of parturition. 



In the majority of cases, amendment is ensured by diverting the ani- 

 mal's attention, in walking it about for a short time, wisping.the abdomen 

 gently, and keeping it in a quiet and dark place. If, however, the pains 

 are violent, and the agitation great and persistent, other measures must 

 be resorted to. Some authorities recommend bleeding, but this should, 

 if possible, be dispensed with. Blankets steeped in hot water should 

 be applied to the loins and abdomen, warm enemas should be administered, 

 and, if deemed necessary, chloroform, aether, opium, or chloral given in 

 draught or in enema — the latter being generally preferable. Not unfre- 

 quently good results are produced by injecting tepid water into the vagina, 

 and raising the animal's hind quarters ; and at other times, when the cervix 

 is in a state of spasm, relief is soon obtained by applying a little extract of 

 belladonna to it. With small animals, a few drops of laudanum, either in 

 draught or enema, and a warm bath, are usually sufficient. 



Quiet, soothing, and simple treatment wall generally bring about a nor- 

 mal state of affairs ; the agitation and irregular straining subside, and 

 easy parturition occurs in six, twelve, or twenty-four hours. 



2. Protracted Labor. — Protracted labor, due solely to the inability of 

 the uterus to expel its contents, or to pathological weakness of the expel- 

 ling forces, is rare, except in those cases in which exhaustion results from 

 violent and long-continued attempts to overcome some material obstacle 

 to birth. Then, most commonly, the membranes have ruptured, the wa- 

 ters have entirely escaped, and the uterus, in a state of general tonic 

 contraction — tetanus uteri — is closely applied to the foetus, but makes no 

 effort to expel it. This usually, if not always, happens when the foetus is 

 dead. But primary inertia, as Saint-Cyr remarks, due to constitutional 

 weakness, and in the absence of any material obstacle to the extrusion of 

 the foetus, is not common. 



