432 FCETAL DYSTOKIA. 



the two fore limbs, and pushed with all his force. All at once the part held in the right 

 hand went forward into the uterus, but the limbs did not stir. Being then able to intro- 

 duce his hand easily into the uterine cavity, he ascertained that it contained two calves, 

 placed one above the other. The limbs in the vagina belonged to the lower one, the 

 Ivsad of which was bent back beneath the sternum and between the limbs, so that the 

 neck lay against the Cow's pubis. The upper calf lay like one Horse upon another, 

 and it was the head of this one which had passed into the vagina. 



It was then easy to extract the calves in succession, only one assistant being neces- 

 sary. The lower calf was not yet dead, though it died soon after extraction. Eight 

 days subsequent to this operation the Cow was perfectly well. 



GROUP II. 



DYSTOKIA FROM MALPRESENTATION OR MALPOSITION 

 OF THE FCETUS. 



Though the impediments to labor in the human female are not unfre- 

 quently due to the foetus being in such a position that it cannot pass 

 through the pelvic canal, yet it is very questionable whether, in animals, 

 this cause of dystokia is not much more common, much more compli- 

 cated, and very much more difficult to be rectified. In woman the im- 

 pediment in this case chiefly occurs when the axis of the foetus does not 

 coincide with that of the uterus — when, for instance, the head or the 

 breech cannot pass through the pelvic inlet, and the presentation is more 

 or less oblique or transverse. It is exceedingly rare indeed that the neck 

 or limbs offer an obstacle to birth. 



With the calf and foal the case is very different. These creatures have 

 the neck and limbs long and very flexible, and even the body itself is 

 comparatively long and readily curved in any direction. The conse- 

 quence is that the limbs or neck may be bent under, to one side, or above 

 the trunk ; while the latter may be flexed in such a manner as to become 

 quite distorted. 



For these reasons, we have a great number of more or less complicated 

 malpresentations and positions, which give rise to varying degrees of dys- 

 tokia, some of them of a very formidable kind. 



It will therefore be readily understood that, even when the axis of the 

 young creature's body coincides with that of the uterus and pelvic canal, 

 and the latter is normal in dimensions, birth may not be possible without 

 assistance ; and this establishes a wide difference between the obstetrics 

 of the human, and the equine and bovine species. Added to this, the 

 veterinary surgeon has the difficulties before mentioned to contend with: 

 powerful and often irritable animals ; a long genital canal and deep 

 uterus ; uterine contractions so energetic that they fatigue and paralyze 

 the hand and arm ; the disadvantages of position in the parturient animal ; 

 the late period at which professional assistance is sought for ; and the 

 damage that may have been inflicted by amateurs and empirics. 



Considering the frequency of these causes of dystokia, and their often- 

 times serious character, they deserve the most careful study in order that 

 they may be successfully overcome. This study also embraces the 

 measures to be adopted in overcoming them ; and as certain of these 

 have to be resorted to in nearly every case of this kind, we will now refer 

 to them. These general measures are based on the indication afforded 

 by the knowledge that, as labor is rendered difficult or impossible from a 

 vicious position of the young creature, so this position must be changed 



