544 OBSTETRIC OPERATIONS. 



limb, for instance, the skin and muscles were divided as near the shoul- 

 der as possible, and the bones, united by their ligaments and covered 

 by the skin, separated by traction. Skellet, in his crude and imperfect 

 work {A Practical Treatise on the Parturition of the Cow), published in 

 1807, writes: "Take a sharp knife, and cut from the point of each 

 shoulder of the calf to the muscular or thick part of the fore-leg ; then 

 cut round it, so as to enable the operator to skin the upper part of the 

 shoulder. A knife is then to be conveyed betw^een the shoulder and 

 brisket, so as to cut the muscles which unite them. When so done, the 

 leg and shoulder may be easily pulled off from its body. The other 

 fore-leg, etc., is to be taken off in the same way." But the subcutaneous 

 method of excision was greatly facilitated by the directions published in 

 Gilnther's work in 1830, and also by the publication of the procedure of 

 Huvellier in the same year {Recueil de Med. Vet^rinaire, 1830, p. 449); 

 while the parent was protected from some of the dangers and pain which 

 attended the old plan. Since the introduction of this method, it has 

 been adopted by every obstetrist of note, who has either kept to the 

 original manuel operatoire, or modified it to suit his own fancy or con- 

 venience. 



Amputation of the Fore-Limbs. 



In order to amputate a fore-limb, it must be more or less advanced in 

 the vagina, or even beyond the vulva. So that, if it is still in the uterus, 

 it must first be removed therefrom and brought into the canal. If both 

 limbs are to be removed, they must be secured by cords around the 

 pastern in the ordinary manner, the cord of the one which is to be first 

 excised being pulled at by two, three, or four assistants, so as to draw it 

 as near, or as much beyond, the vulva as possible. Another assistant 

 then keeps the lips of the vulva wide apart, in order to allow the opera- 

 tor more room. The latter makes a circular incision above the fetlock 

 — or, better still, the knee, taking care not to go deeper than the ^in. 

 From this incision, gliding his hand into the vagina, along the limb, he 

 gradually makes a longitudinal one, extending higher up as the leg be- 

 comes elongated by the traction. 



Bome practitioners make this incision on the inner aspect of the limb, 

 others on the outer side. On the latter there is perhaps less danger of 

 wounding the maternal organs, and it may be more convenient for the 

 operator. But this is a matter of minor importance ; it is more neces- 

 sary to be careful in incising the skin over the articulations, so as not to 

 divide the ligaments of these, as this might lead to the limb being torn 

 away at the wrong place ; no such precaution is necessary with the 

 muscles. 



This longitudinal incision having being made, the skin is separated 

 from the structures beneath, either by means of the fingers or spatula : 

 pushing it up towards the shoulder as it is detached, until at length, as 

 the leg becomes stretched, the incision and the detached skin are as 

 high as the shoulder. The dissection being then deemed sufficient, and 

 the limb being only retained by the muscles which attach it to the 

 thorax, the operator, either by his hand or the crutch, makes pressure on 

 the foetus, while the assistants are ordered to pull energetically at the ^ 

 cord on the pastern, and in a kind of jerking manner. Soon slight crack- ' 

 ing sounds are heard, the muscles are rupturing and giving way, and in a 

 very short time the entire limb — scapula and all — is removed. 



