266 DYSrOKIA. 



more fatiguing and difficult, as he has then to kneel, and to accommodate 

 himself to the animal. In the decubitus, it is still more necessary that 

 the croup should be higher than the front part of the body, in order to 

 get the digestive organs out of the way ; the lateral pressure of the viscera 

 should also be diminished by having the spine higher than the limbs ; 

 and it must be borne in mind that the more an animal is raised above the 

 ground when it is lying, the easier is the manipulation. For the same 

 reason, the smaller animals should be raised as high as the operator's 

 hand : the Sheep, Sow, and Goat on several bundles of straw ; the Bitch 

 and Cat on a table covered with straw or a cloth. The two latter animals 

 must be so secured that they will not bite or scratch the operator. 



To compel a Cow to get up, Schaack recommends that a small Dog be 

 introduced into the stable, and made to bark at and excite the animal. 



The coat must be removed, and the shirt-sleeve rolled as high as the 

 shoulder ; indeed, with large animals, when there is a likelihood of much 

 manipulation being required with the cavity of the uterus, it has been 

 recommended to remove the shirt and underclothing from the arm and 

 shoulder altogether. 



My friend, Mr. Cartwright, of Whitchurch, employs a large, thick, and 

 long woollen sleeveless vest that buttons close up around the neck ; this 

 is ver}^ suitable for such cases, as it not only admits of the shirt being 

 removed, but, besides keeping the operator's clothes clean, it prevents 

 him catching cold. Other operators wear a long gown, like a dissecting- 

 room gown. 



The back of the hand and arm should be well smeared with oil, grease, 

 or even butter, not qnly to render their introduction into the genital pas- 

 sages more easy, and less irritating to the lining membrane, but also to 

 some extent to prevent the operator becoming infected. It is scarcely 

 necessary to add that rings should not be worn on the fingers. The 

 right hand is usually introduced, but it is well to be able to use both 

 hands ; certain manipulations being more easily executed with the left 

 than the right hand ; and, besides, in protracted operations one hand 

 relieves the other. 



Before commencing the examination of the genital passages, it is well 

 to empty the rectum, and if possible the bladder. While emptying the 

 former viscus, useful information may be gleaned in ascertaining the con- 

 dition of the uterus through its walls, as well as of the pelvis and pelvic 

 cavity. 



The fingers being gathered together in a cone-like form, the hand — 

 which should not be cold — is inserted carefully into the vagina at a 

 moment when the animal is not straining : the outer margin (little finger) 

 being downwards, thumb towards the rectum, and pushed gently inwards 

 by a slight rotatory movement ; but the advance of the hand must be 

 momentarily checked if the straining is at all sevefe, or until the animal, 

 if irritable, has become reconciled to it. When once through the vulva, 

 more room is found in the vagina, and the hand and fore-arm can then 

 penetrate with ease as far as the cervix uteri. 



The object of exploration being to ascertain, in the first place, the con- 

 dition of the genital passages, as well as the state of the pelvic cavity in 

 general, the operator has to satisfy himself whether the vagina is empty, 

 or if it already contains some portion of the foetus or its membranes, and 

 what these are ; if there is any abnormal condition or contraction of the 

 vagina, or any tumors either within or external to that canal, as well as 



