446 FCETAL DYSTOKIA. 



may appear between the labia, the uterus, applied closely to the body of 

 the foetus, contracts powerfully, and futile attempts at retropulsion fatigue 

 the operator. Another procedure must then be adopted. The hand, 

 carrying a pliable cord, must be passed alongside the head as far as one 

 of the bent knees ; then the end of the cord is to be passed behind the 

 joint and brought outside the vulva, where it is tied to the other end, the 

 cord forming a loop around the knee. The second knee, if flexed, is to 

 be secured in the same manner, and a cord is also to be fixed on the 

 head ; thus there will be three points on which traction can be employed 

 as vigorously as may be necessary. Some practitioners employ blunt 

 hooks instead of cords, but it may be doubted whether they are so useful ; 

 hooks are also sometimes resorted to for straightening the limbs by seiz- 

 ing the pasterns, 9,nd in some cases they may prove serviceable. The 

 " repeller " or "crutch " may also be most profitably utilized in retropul- 

 sion, and in keeping the foetus forward while the necessary manoeuvres 

 are carried out ; it should be applied to the head or chest. Harms 

 advises, in the case of one limb bent at the knee, that if this cannot be 

 extended it should be pushed forward under the abdomen by the crutch, 

 which is applied to the humerus, the other limb and the head being corded, 

 and then traction employed. If both limbs are bent and irreducible, this 

 plan might be tried in the Cow, particularly if the foetus is not very large. 

 Should none of these methods succeed, then embryotomy must be 

 adopted, the limbs either being removed at the knee, or the shoulder if 

 possible ; though the advantages of this operation are not so great as 

 might be anticipated when the limbs are only removed at the knees, while 

 removal at the shoulder is frequently a most tedious and fatiguing task 

 when it is possible. 



2. Vertebro-PubicTosition of the Fcetus. — It is rare that this com- 

 plication is found in the vertebro-pubic position, and only a few instances 

 are recorded. The foetus is lying on its back, and the head either 

 presents at the inlet, or is more or less advanced in the pelvis, with the 

 fore-limbs occupying the sacro-lumbar region of the mother, more or less 

 flexed, and often crossed on the sternum. 



In this position the foetus is much less likely to become so firmly 

 wedged in the pelvis as in the one just described, and it is consequently 

 more easily extracted. If, however, the uterine contractions are violent, 

 or care is not observed in attempting delivery, the fore-feet, projecting 

 as they do towards the utero-vaginal parietes and the rectum, may cause 

 grave mischief. Extraction should therefore be set about early, and 

 with every precaution. 



Indications, 



Having ascertained the position, it is generally a good plan to empty 

 the rectum before proceeding to extract the foetus. If the head is in the 

 genital canal, it may be advisable to secure it by a head-collar ; then the 

 limbs can be sought for and adjusted, an operation much facilitated by a 

 hand in the rectum. Delivery may now be accomplished by guiding the 

 legs forward into the pelvis — cording them and exercising traction if 

 necessary. It is sometimes very useful, in more difficult cases, to throw 

 the animal on its back. Version is rarely required. 



3. Right or Left Vertebro-Ilial Position of the Fcetus. — 



