378 FCETAL DVSTOKIA. 



s 



and delivery difficult, owing to the great distention of the uterus and the 

 pendulous state of the abdomen. 



The indications for treatment have been given at p. i8o. 



An unusually small quantity of the liquor amnii, when it is not due to 

 premature rupture of the envelopes, has not, to my knowledge, been men- 

 tioned as a cause of dystokia ; though there is no reason why this de- 

 ficiency should not lead to protracted labor, if we call to mind what has 

 been said as to the uses of this fluid. 



The indications will be the same as for those cases in which the fluid 

 has escaped prematurely. 



Anomalies in the Umbilical Cord. 



Anomalies in the umbilical cord are not a very common cause of 

 dystokia. 



The cord may be unusually short; but this deficiency does not appear 

 to operate prejudicially in parturition, as the natural twist in it admits of 

 its elongation to a certain extent, while during the act of expulsion the 

 walls of the body of the uterus approach the cervix as the foetus advances 

 into the vagina. Even if the cord happened to be too short, it is ques- 

 tionable whether it would constitute a serious obstacle to birth, as it 

 would most probably either rupture or the placenta would separate from 

 the uterus. 



If by chance the foetus should not be expelled until it was discovered 

 that the cord was not sufficiently long, this might easily be cut in the 

 vagina, as far as possible from the foetus, the ends being compressed by 

 the fingers and ligatured after delivery. 



In the domesticated animals the cord is never so long as to occasion 

 what has been designated in human ohsietxics prolapsus of the cord, i.e., 

 its descent into the os, vagina, or outside the vulva, after rupture of the 

 membranes, and alongside the presenting part of the child : an accident 

 attended sometimes with great danger to the latter, from compression of 

 the funis. 



The comparatively short cord of the domesticated animals also ex- 

 empts them to some extent from another frequent cause of difficult 

 labor met with in woman : the coiling of the funis around some part or 

 parts of the foetus. Nevertheless, this coiling has been observed in 

 animals — more often with the Mare than the Cow. Havon, Delwart, 

 Hurtrel D'Arboval, Rueff, and Sacchers have seen it coiled around the 

 neck, and more especially when the foetus was in a wrong position — bent 

 towards the flanks, near the cord. Gaven has found it round the loins ; 

 and numerous observers have noted it encircling one or more of the limbs. 

 Daubenton had remarked the frequency of leg coils in Sheep. 



Coiling of the funis around any part of the foetus is not in itself a com- 

 mon cause of dystokia, although it may render delivery protracted and 

 fatiguing. It is more likely to induce asphyxia in the young creature, 

 from the stretching and diminished calibre of the blood-vessels composing 

 it, and consequent check to the flow of blood. 



Rainard is of opinion that the obstacle to parturition from coiling, is 

 less serious in the Mare and carnivorous animals than other creatures, 

 because of the readiness with which the placenta is detached in them. 



The dangers of strangulation are also much less when the foetus pre- 

 sents anteriorly ; when the presentation is posterior, there is risk of 

 suffocation, because it is difficult to ascertain the situation of the cord 



