EMBRYOTOMY. 543 



the operator and dangerous for the mother. It would almost be deemed 

 impossible, if veterinarians had not attempted it and succeeded ; though 

 the majority of them have said but little as to their mode of procedure. 



It is always preferable, if possible, to remove one of the fore-limbs, as 

 this is easier, quicker, and less dangerous. 



But decapitation must sometimes be performed, and then the above 

 instructions will be found useful. 



• In the case of double-headed monstrosities, the saw and bone-chisel, 

 or a pair of strong bone-forceps, will be valuable. When the head of 

 the foetus is retained in the uterus, and bent back towards the shoulder 

 or flank, then it may be decided to amputate the head should it and the 

 neck be distorted. Disarticulation may be commenced at the most con- 

 venient part of the convexity made by the bend of the neck, cutting 

 through the soft tissues down to the vertebra on that side, then on the 

 other ; then sawing or chiselling through the bones, and afterwards using 

 the crotchets carefully. 



Amputation of the Limbs. 



When the limbs are so deviated that they cannot be straightened, or 

 when by their presence in the genital passage they prevent the necessary 

 manoeuvres for the adjustment of other parts of the foetus, then it may 

 be necessary to amputate or disarticulate one or more of the extremities. 

 Some of the indications for the operation have been referred to on vari- 

 ous occasions : they include all those foetal monstrosities which have su- 

 pernumerary limbs that require removal before delivery can be effected ; 

 those cases in which the foetus is exaggerated in volume, either normally, 

 or through having become emphysematous after death in utero ; those 

 complicated malpresentations, such as the abdominal, hock, thigh, etc., 

 and certain deviations of the head and neck in the anterior presentation. 

 Saint-Cyr points out that, in the latter, it is well to hesitate before de- 

 cidiug to remove the limbs ; for if it is true that their ablation allows 

 more space for manoeuvres, and more facility for adjusting the head, it is 

 not less true that, should these manoeuvres fail, by the loss of the limbs 

 we are deprived of a powerful means of traction when we are compelled, 

 as a derniere ressource, to adopt forced extraction. Besides, it must not be 

 forgotten that embryotomy is itself an extreme measure, to which we 

 should only have recourse when every other fails or seems to be really 

 hopeless. 



One or both of the fore or hind-limbs may be required to be ampu- 

 tated, according to circumstances. In the earlier days of veterinary 

 science, the obstetrist was content to pull at the limb of the foetus which 

 he wished to remove, either by mechanical or manual power, until it was 

 torn off by brute-force. Fromage de Feugre mentions that Texier had in 

 this manner torn away the limbs of many foals which he could not ex- 

 tract — the separation of the limb always taking place between the chest 

 and scapula, by rupture of the muscles uniting these two parts ; and he 

 asserts that by this procedure he was able to save many Mares — though 

 he says nothing as to the suffering of these before the limbs could be 

 torn from the body. 



Subsequently, it was discovered that the skin offered most resistance 

 to this kind of avulsion — the muscles and ligaments being much more 

 easily torn. Then the knife was employed to incise the skin, and thus 

 get rid of the chief difficulty. On the Continent, in amputating a fore 



