552 OBSTETRIC OPERATIONS. 



bladder by replacing the vagina, hysterotomy was practised, and the fore-limbs of the 

 foetus were seized and brought through the os, but the head was deviated ; so it was 

 necessary to cord thefeet, return them to the uterus, and adjust the head. The opera- 

 tion lasted for six hours, but the calf was extracted alive. In about half an hour, inver- 

 sion of the uterus took place, with the membranes adherent. The latter were detached, 

 reposition of the uterus was effected, and the organ retained by Renault's bandage — all 

 in a few minutes. The Cow did not die, but lived, and subsequently produced more 

 calves. 



The second case was one of occlusion of the os uteri. Vaginal hysterotomy occupied 

 about ten minutes ; a bull-calf was born alive, and the Cow did not appear to suffer. 

 The animal, of the Charolaise breed, was of great value, and was subsequently sold for 

 a thousand francs ; after producing several calves without any difficulty, it was again 

 sold, when aged twelve years, for six hundred francs. 



2. Binz {Zeitschrift filr Wissenschaftliche Thierheilktinde, 1846, p. 365) describes the case 

 of a Cow which for three years was unprolific ; but during oestrum, at the end of this 

 period, the os was artificially dilated by the finger half an hour before the animal was 

 put to the Bull. Impregnation resulted, but at the termination of pregnancy delivery 

 could not take place. Binz, on exploration, found the cervix in a cartilaginous condi- 

 tion, and the os completely and firmly occluded. With difficulty one of the fingers 

 was passed half through the canal. The labor-pains were so extremely powerful, 

 that it seemed as if the foetus would be expelled through the walls of the uterus or the 

 rectum before the os would dilate. An incision in the cervix was then made by means 

 of a probe-pointed bistoury, from the os, and upwards. The labor-pains continuing 

 strong, the " water-bag " soon appeared; but the os did not dilate sufficiently to allow it 

 or the fcetus to enter ; a second incision — also upwards — was therefore made in the 

 cartilaginous cervix, which permitted the " water-bag " to pass through. This was opened, 

 and it was found that the calf presented in the proper position in front of the opening. 

 The incisions gradually widened, and in a few minutes a fine Cow-calf, weighing forty 

 ffund, was born ; in half an hour afterwards the foetal membranes came away. Three 

 or four times a day lukewarm water, with a decoction of chamomile flowers and tincture 

 of myrrh, was injected ; the animal ate and drank well, and soon quite recovered ; it 

 yielded a good quantity of milk, and in a year afterwards was sold to the butcher in fine 

 condition. 



3. The same excellent authority [Ibid., p. 368) performed the operation on a Cow, the 

 cervix of whose uterus was so indurated that it was impossible to bring the calf through 

 it. Birth then took place without assistance, and no ill consequences resulted. When 

 oestrum again occurred, the worst fears of the owner were realized, in that the Cow, 

 when put to the Bull, was not impregnated. Binz was consulted, and on examination he 

 found that, at the part where the incisions had been made during the last calving, a hard 

 cicatrix as thick as the finger had developed, but that the other parts of the cervix were 

 sufficiently dilatable to allow him to introduce the finger into the os. The latter being 

 rendered permeable in this way, the Cow was once more put to the Bull, conceived, and 

 at the termination of gestation, with very little help, brought forth a fine calf. 



4. Pflug [Wochenschrift fiir Thierheilkunde tend Viehzucht, 1863) was called upon to 

 assist a heifer in calving. The labor-pains were strong, and the vagina, together with 

 the cervix — behind which were the head and feet of the calf — protruded beyond the vulva. 

 The calf was alive. Reposition of the vagina was effected, the upper part of the cervix 

 was incised in one place, and the young creature extracted. The haemorrhage was not 

 serious. The afterbirth was removed piecemeal, and in a few days the Cow regained 

 its appetite. Suddenly it became unwell, and on examination it was found that the 

 upper margin of the cervix was greatly swollen ; in a short time an abscess formed, pus 

 was discharged, and the heifer soon recovered permanently. 



5. Foglar {Oesterreichische Vlerteljahresschrift fiir Wissenschaftliche Veterincirhinde, 

 1876, p. 30), in referring to this " Scheidengebarmutterschnitt," as the Germans desig- 

 nate the operation, makes some interesting observations. In the course of five years' 

 practice he had performed vaginal hysterotomy on six occasions — partly on primiparae, 

 partly on pluriparae. The incisions in the cervix were made, in two of the cases, in the 

 outer margin of the dense cartilaginous ring, so as to allow the inner ring to be incised.* 

 In the other four cases, the occlusion of the os was so complete that at most, only the 

 tip of the little finger could be introduced. A passage to the interior of the uterus had 

 to be gradually cut by means of the knife. The operation took from one and a quarter 

 to one and a half hour, during which the animals were kept standing : two or three men 

 were placed at the head and tail, and the left hind-leg was secured. The animals 

 remained perfectly quiet. Foglar used the probe-pointed or button bistoury for the 



* Foglar, following the example of human anatomists, recognizes in the canal of the cervix an os uteri 

 externum, and internum or "rings" iringen). 



