MORBID ALTERATIONS IN THE GENITAL ORGANS. 329 



which are pediculated ; as the latter may be more or less easily displaced 

 when they are in the way, and delivery rendered as easy as usual. Or if 

 the pediculated tumors cannot be temporarily removed from the path of 

 the foetus, they may easily be altogether got rid of by a simple opera- 

 tion, particularly if their base is very attenuated. 



3. Consistence. — The hardness or softness of the tumors has an impor- 

 tant bearing on their obstructiveness. Such tumors as the fibroids are so 

 dense and inelastic, that the strongest compression will scarcely diminish 

 their volume or alter their shape ; while others — such as the condyloma- 

 tous or papillomatous tumors^ — readily change their form and dimensions 

 when submitted to pressure. 



We will allude to each of these morbid productions more fully here- 

 after. 



Diagnosis. 



The diagnosis of these tumors is not always so easy in the domesti- 

 cated animals as in woman. In the latter, as Saint-Cyr truly says, the 

 surgeon may sometimes have to discover the existence and to determine 

 the nature of such growths during pregnancy ; and he may, consequently, 

 be prepared beforehand to overcome the difficulties which will present 

 themselves at a later period. But with the veterinary obstetrist's patients 

 this is not so ; and it is only and always during parturition, in the midst 

 of the trouble which inevitably accompanies a difficult birth, that he is 

 called upon to give an opinion. 



But as some compensation for this disadvantage, in animals direct explo- 

 ration is easier than in woman ; while the entire hand can be introduced 

 into the genital passages of the larger creatures with facility, and explore 

 every part \ so that if the period is late for acquiring information with 

 regard to the existence of tumors, yet these facilities enable the obstetrist 

 to obtain most valuable notions with regard to diagnosis, prognosis, and 

 treatment. 



But this exploration should be complete and intelligent ; as errors in 

 diagnosis are easily committed, and may lead to serious consequences. 

 Here the hand, not the eye, must be the guide, and just as the sense of 

 touch is well developed in this organ, so it will all the more readily distin- 

 guish between a tumor, the " water-bag," or some part of the foetus which 

 is covered by or denuded of its membranes ; as well as discover the 

 exact seat, volume, consistence, and mode of attachment, besides some- 

 thing of the nature, of such pathological productions as we are now 

 considering. 



Treatmejit. 



The indications for the treatment of these obstacles to birth will, of 

 course, depend upon a variety of circumstances, the majority of which have 

 been referred to. Sometimes we may be able to act directly on the 

 tumor, and remove it from the genital passages ; in other cases, from its 

 situation and nature, it may be beyond the reach of direct action. 



When in the vagina and not far from the vulva, and particularly when 

 pediculated, it is occasionally extruded as the foetus is expelled from the 

 uterus, and may then be readily seized by the hand or forceps, and taken 

 out of the way. In such a case the tumor may be either drawn outside 

 the vulva, pushed to one side so as to clear the passage, or extirpated. 



If it is situated beyond the os, and is sufficiently movable, it may be 



