MORBID ALTERATIONS IN THE GENITAL ORGANS. 



355 



1. Hall [Vetcrbiarian, vol. xxviii., p. 272) attended a Cow which had been in labor 

 for twenty-six hours, and was so much exhausted that the labor pains had almost sub- 

 sided. The OS uteri was found to be impermeable. Stimulants and ecbolics were ad- 

 ministered, but they produced no effect pn the uterus. It was then " determined to cut 

 through the ligaments or bands which encircle the inner margin of the os uteri, and 

 having done this with great difficulty, it afforded only slight relief; for it was more like 

 cutting bone than elastic tissue. I could even now only get three fingers in ; but this 

 giving me more room to work, with a curved knife fitted to my finger I made four inci- 

 sions — one above, another below, and one at each side. With great caution I had to 

 proceed, for the Cow was now making violent throes ; but I had more room, and with the 

 assistance or five men I brought the calf into the world alive." The Cow recovered. 



2. Macgillivray (Ibid.,\o\. xlv., p. 717) was called to a seven-year-old Cow which had 

 been trying to calve for twenty-four hours. The foetal membranes had ruptured, but an 

 amateur who had been interfering could only succ'eed in passing one finger into the os 

 uteri. The labor pains were tolerably severe, and the entrance to the uterus was found 

 to be quite rigid and closely contracted, admitting only two fingers with great difiiculty. 

 The cervix was soft, but within the os were three transverse bands, exceedingly firm 

 and unyielding, and no manipulation could relax them. It was resolved to cut through 

 these apparently cartilaginous rings ; but as the cervix could not be brought sufficiently 

 back into the vagina to be seen and manipulated externally, cutting through it was diffi- 

 cult and required extreme care. A partially covered knife was, however, introduced 

 into the os, and two lateral incisions, " up and out," were made through the transverse 

 bands. " The effect was wonderful, the whole parts relaxing almost instantly, and the 

 fore-legs of a foetus made their way into the vagina ; but it required considerable trac- 

 tion to get the head, and subsequently the whole body, away. There were twins pres- 

 ent, and both were born alive and did well. Very little assistance was required in 

 bringing the second calf away. There was scarcely any haemorrhage." 



3. The same writer mentions the case of a two-year old Cow in its first pregnancy. 

 This animal had been unwell for some days ; there was anorexia, and occasionally se- 

 vere labor pains. " The whole uterus and its contents were seemingly at times forced 

 into the pelvic cavity, and at such times the walls of the vagina became inverted." On 

 exploration, the cervix was found firmly contracted, the os only admitting a finger. Di- 

 latation by " emollients" and other means having been tried, an interval of twenty-four 

 hours was allowed to elapse before incision was attempted. The operation was per- 

 formed as in the other instance, and delivery was effected. " In this case, however, the 

 calf was of great size, and it required a tremendous amount of traction to effect a sep- 

 aration between the mother and foetus. The calf was alive and did well ; and the 

 mother, notwithstanding much unavoidable laceration, with good nursing and treatment 

 came all right." 



4. Another case alluded to by Macgillivray as one of " soft stricture," was also that 

 of a primiparous two-year-old Cow which had occasionally been seized with labor pains 

 during five days. These were at times so severe as to bring the cervix uteri into view, 

 when " it presented a very inflamed appearance, was extremely ragged in outline, and 

 considerable fungous excrescences had become developed around the margin. . . . 

 The cervix was quite soft, and attended with much inflammatory action and. surrounding 

 thickening." Vaginal hysterotomy was performed as in the previous cases, and with 

 much difficulty a living calf was extracted. But the mother was so " frightfully torn," 

 owing to the large size of the foetus, that it was deemed advisable to have it slaughtered. 

 The owner would not then consent, but after the creature had lingered for ten days, it 

 had to be killed. 



5. Migliano {II Medico Veterinario, 1875) is the latest writer who treats of dystokia 

 from induration or stenosis of the cervix uteri. The first case of dystokia recorded by 

 him occurred in a Cow three years old, which had already produced a calf without any 

 difficulty. When seen by Migliano, the animal was in the act of parturition : it was 

 lying on the right side, manifested indications of uneasiness or pain, and a small quan- 

 tity of a slightly fetid fluid escaped from the vulva. The proprietor stated that the 

 Cow had eaten a little food, but much less than usual. To inform himself as to the 

 position of the foetus, Migliano made a vaginal exploration, when he encountered an ob- 

 stacle that prevented further investigation, in the form of occlusion and rigidity of the 

 cervix uteri. In presence of the collective symptoms in this case, he thought it better 

 to wait. 



On the following day, another attempt at exploration proved the existence of the 

 same obstacle, the character of which it was now determined to ascertain. Migliano 

 found it possible to assure himself that it was composed of three dense fibrous rings, 

 each the thickness of the little finger, very slightly elastic, disposed transversely, and 

 so firmly closing the uterine opening as to render every effort to introduce the hand futile. 



