MONSTROSITIES. 423 



was punctured ; the confined limb released, by incising the bag containing it ; then, after 

 attaching cords to two of the legs and trying in vain to bring the foetus into a favorable 

 position, it was found necessary to amputate two of the extremities in utero. This was 

 done by cutting the skin round the pastern, slitting it up to the shoulder in the one case 

 and hip in the other, then skinning and dissecting with the scalpel. These limbs being 

 removed, cords were fastened to the others and to the lower jaw. Considerable traction 

 • was then applied, and the remaining portion of the foetus was extracted. 



The Cow made a good recovery. The lower part of the body of the foetus was open 

 from the neck to the anus, the spine curved backwards in a circle towards the head, so 

 that the lower surface of the vertebrae became uppermost ; the limbs and viscera were 

 correspondingly displaced, and the skin had no attachments to the other tissues ; there 

 was no pelvic cavit}-, but simply a broad pubic bone growing out from the vertebrae with 

 which the hind limbs articulated ; and the whole vertebral column was completely 

 anchylosed. 



7. Rossignol [Jottrnal de Med. Veterinaire de Lyons, 1S66, p. 263) was requested to assist 

 a Cow which was in labor. The owner informed him that, instead of bringing forth a 

 calf, nothing was to be seen but bowels, and Rossignol therefore suspected that a seri- 

 ous injury had been done to the Cow, through rupturing the metro-vagirtal parietes. It 

 was not so, however. The Cow was lying on its left side, and made no expulsive efforts ; 

 but a large mass, composed of coils of intestine, distended by gas, lay outside the vulva. 

 The color of these was rather bluish, and from their small diameter it was obvious that 

 they belonged to the foetus. On passing the hand into the vulva, it readily entered a 

 large cavity, recognized to be a part of the foetus ; the kidneys, liver, and rudiments of 

 the stomach of the young creature could be touched. The abdominal parietes, as well 

 as the skin, were evidently absent. As the tail and the points of the hocks could be 

 made out, it was obvious that the presentation was a posterior one, and that extraction 

 would be easy. Each hind limb was accordingly pushed forward by the cannon bone 

 until the hoofs could be touched ; these were then lifted up and brought towards the 

 vulva. This manoeuvre was facilitated bv the position of the foetus — which was lumbo- 

 pubic. Delivery was accomplished in less than half an hour. The foetus was completely 

 destitute of skin from the last three sternal ribs to the pelvis ; it adhered to, but did 

 not extend beyond, the loins ; it covered the ribs, but not their cartilages ; the ribs 

 curved outwards, the sternal ones had no cartilages, and the lungs and heart were 

 visible. 



The Cow lay as if paralyzed for eight days, and was able to get up on the fourth day 

 after delivery ; the following year it gave birth to a well-formed calf. 



8. Daube {journal de Veterinaires du Midi, 1869, p. 497) visited a Cow which had gone 

 seventeen days beyond its time, and had worked until the previous evening. It was 

 exhibiting symptoms of colic ; a vaginal exploration did not discover any foetal move- 

 ments. A large quantity of liquor amnii had escaped, and the udder had become sud- 

 denly swollen. As the labor pains were only very slight, nothing was attempted until the 

 next day. Early in the morning, however, the owner came to report that the Cow was 

 nearly dead, and though straining violently, there were no signs of the calf. Daube 

 found the Cow lying, and apparently very prostrate ; so he immediately proceeded to 

 deliver it. When his hand reached the uterus it met an unformed mass, the position of 

 which he could not ascertain ; he felt it in all directions, but there was nothing definite 

 — nothing but convexities. It was impossible to seize a limb : the hand always glided 

 between the different envelopes of the foetus without meeting any thing recognizable. 

 However, in thrusting it into the abdominal cavity the head of the creature was felt, 

 and this led to the suspicion that it was a posterior presentation. Passing the hand 

 over the back a hard convex mass was perceived ; this was the vertebral column, on each 

 side of which the ribs were found constantly under the hand. This extreme difficulty 

 in diagnosing the case, or distinguishing the position of the calf and seizing the limbs, 

 caused Daube to believe that his hand was engaged between the inner surface of the 

 uterus and the external surface of the placenta ; and as he had been already engaged for 

 two hours in trying to make out the nature of the mass, he came to the conclusion that the 

 foetus had become twisted on itself and entangled in the placenta. Impressed with this 

 notion, he thought it necessary to tear through what he considered were the fecial 

 envelopes (the "waters" having escaped since the previous evening), imagining that by 

 this procedure he might be able to distinguish and seize the limbs, as well as the body of 

 the foetus. This laceration having been effected, the hand was withdrawn, when, to his 

 great astonishment, the intestines of the creature were recognized; soon the liver, 

 spleen, lungs, etc., were successively extracted. But he could not comprehend how 

 he had torn the skin of the creature in order to allow of this escape ; however, in the 

 midst of his manipulations he at last discovered the articulation of a limb, and which he 

 took to be that of the stifle. After five hours' labor, it was deemed impossible to extract 

 the foetus entire ; so embryotomy was decided upon. 



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