42 2 



FCETAL DYSTOKIA. 



the calf by cording the head and fore limbs, and pulling at these, while 

 the hind limbs were being pushed back into the uterus, and so dislocating 

 the spine and straightening the body. If the spine does not give way, it 

 may be cut or sawn through. 



In removing the body of the foetus by instalments, the limbs are ampu- 

 tated one after the other, according to the rules to be prescribed for this 

 operation ; and it may be necessary to excise two, three, or four of the 

 legs, and even the head of the foetus, before delivery can jpe completed. 



As we have shown, the number of cases recorded of this kind of mon- 

 strosity is relatively somewhat large ; but we will only select a small 

 number in illustration of the varieties, difficulties, and results met with in 

 practice. 



1. Bull [Veterinarian, vol. ix., p. 158) mentions a Ewe which had gone its full time, 

 and with difficulty produced a lamb. This creature presented a sudden incurvation 

 about tlie centre of the spine, with a similar inversion of the ribs ; so that the hind legs 

 lay upon the neck and upper part of the shoulders, while the fore legs took a direction 

 upwards, embracing the hind quarters, and forming a kind of collar, by which they and 

 the head were encircled. The head was deeply bent under the breast, and the chest 

 and abdomen were not enclosed ; consequently, all the internal organs lay loose or 

 floating in the uterus while the young creature was there (Fig. 104). Every part appeared 

 to have attained its full development. 



2. Tennant {Ibid., vol. vii., p. 439) describes the case of a Cow which had calved. It 

 had usually produced twins, and it was suspected another remained in the uterus. On 

 introducing the hand, it met with a substance which felt like the liver, and afterwards 

 proved to be so ; the parietes of the abdomen were absent, the common integuments 

 were reflected upwards upon the sides, and the whole of the viscera left exposed. The 

 left hind leg was bent first forward and then backward over the ilium towards the tail, 

 somewhat enveloped in the integument of the belly. There was no diaphragm, but the 

 thoracic viscera were entire. After extraction, the hind leg just mentioned was found 

 to resemble the fore leg. 



3. Marshall {Ibid., vol. xl., p. 650) attended a small heifer, three and a half years old, 

 which had gone its full period of gestation, and which three shepherds had been attempt- 

 ing to deliver of its calf for twelve hours. Examination /^r z/a^'-/««w discovered one 

 fore and two hind-feet, as well as the head, presenting ; the latter being inverted, and 

 one knee and hock much distorted ; the tail could also be felt. Every attempt to rectify 

 the position or extract the foetus by pulling failed, and the Cow was destroyed. A 

 superficial examination of the foetus showed that the whole of the viscera of the abdo- 

 men, chest, and pelvis were on the outside of the body, but nearly in their normal posi- 

 tion and perfect. The intestines contained meconium ; the mammary glands and four 

 teats were on the thighs ; the spine was bent backwards about the middle of the dorsal 

 vertebra, with the spinous processes resting on the sacrum ; the sternum and abdornen 

 being split upon exposing the viscera. One fore-leg was turned back at the shoulder, 

 resting upon the ribs near where they join the vertebrae, and hooked at the pastern over 

 the spine ; the other fore-leg was placed in a contrary direction, the two hind-legs and 

 head accompanying it. These were the parts which presented in the uterus. The 

 foetus was alive a short time before the Cow was destroyed. 



Recourse could not be had to embryotomy: "there was no room to use the knife, as 

 the greatest bulk of the foetus was at the part to be operated on, and the upper joints of 

 the limbs were immovable." 



4. Toll {Ibid., p. 719) alludes to five cases, in two of which the Cows were killed by 

 the owners ; in the other three delivery was effected by removing the abdominal and 

 thoracic viscera of the foetus, dividing the lumbar vertebrae by means of a strong knife, 

 and extracting the hind quarters by a hook and cord. The Cows did well. 



5. Gibbs and Helmore {Ibid., vol. xli., p. 517) each met with a case. The former was 

 successful in extricating the monstrosity ; but the latter could not deliver, and the Cow 

 had to be killed. 



6. Watson {Ibid., vol. xliv., p. 531) attended a (?ow in parturition which two men had 

 been trying to deliver for some hours. The animal was standing, and two of the feet 

 of the foetus were protruding from the vagina. An exploration proved that the calf was 

 malformed, the heart and intestines being exposed, three feet presenting, and a large 

 sac on the cranium. The head and tail were in the genital passage, while the fourth 

 limb — a fore one — was felt doubled up and enclosed in a sort of bag. The cranial sac 



