626 ACCIDENTS INCIDENTAL TO PARTURITION. 



may be situated either towards the vutva or cervix uteri, on the sides, 

 floor, or roof of the canal ; while they may only concern the vagina, or 

 involve, at the same time, the neighboring organs and textures. Conse- 

 quently, the gravity, as well as the symptoms of such lesions, vary con- 

 siderably, according to their simplicity or complexity. Nevertheless, as 

 we shall have to note hereafter, a very trifling abrasion may bring about 

 very serious consequences ; while an apparently formidable injury maybe 

 followed by no unfavorable indications. 



With regard to rupture of the vagina, and particularly with that which 

 may be designated " spontaneous," it may be remarked that when the 

 lesion occurs towards the cervix uteri, it is nearly always transversal, and, 

 as has been before noted, the vagina may be completely separated from 

 the uterus. In other instances, the form and direction of the rupture will 

 differ considerably. Longitudinal rents often extend into the cervix uteri 

 and body of the uterus. 



Of all the domesticated animals, the Mare appears to suffer most fre- 

 quently from lesions of the vagina produced during parturition. The 

 reasons for this liability we have already alluded to, and they may be 

 chiefly referred to the length of the limbs of the foetus, and the energetic 

 and rapid contractions of the uterus ; as \vell as the greater susceptibility 

 of this animal to morbid influences — such as septikasmia. Nevertheless, 

 in all animals these injuries are notoriously serious, and if the laceration 

 occurs when the tissues of this part are bruised, chafed, and irritated by 

 manipulations during a laborious delivery, they are all the more grave, 

 ^ainard justly remarks that Bitches and Cats in which such a condition 

 of the tissues exist, all succumb if there is the most trifling rupture of the 

 vagina, even if there is no hernia. 



If the laceration is extensive towards the bottom of the vagina, the ab- 

 dominal cavity will be opened, and the foetus, if it has not been expelled, 

 may have partly passed through the rupture ; and in consequence of the 

 walls of the passage being much less contractile than those of the uterus, 

 the accidental opening is more pervious in the former than the latter, 

 and thus all the more readily allows the intestines or bladder to pass 

 through. 



Laceration or rupture of the vagina is more easily diagnosed than when 

 this accident occurs in the uterus, as the vagina is much more accessible 

 to the eye and hand ; though in some cases it is difficult to arrive at an 

 exact knowledge of the situation or extent of the injury. 



With regard to progtiosis^ this will much depend upon circumstances, 

 and the complications met with. Sometimes a mere abrasion of the mu- 

 cous membrane, which produces a raw surface, or a laceration extending 

 to the submucous connective tissue, may lead to septic infection. This is 

 particularly to be apprehended should the foetus or membranes have 

 undergone decomposition, or any putrid matter — as the lochia — allowed 

 to remain in the genital canal, especially during hot weather. Wounds 

 or lacerations on the floor of the vagina are generally more serious than 

 those on the roof or sides, for the reasons mentioned with regard to rup- 

 ture of the uterus. And even wounds or rupture of the sides or roof of 

 the vagina are much more serious than the incisions made through its 

 walls in ovariotomy, owing to the presence, during parturition and the 

 puerperal state, of .fluids which may quickly become, or are already, 

 putrescent. 



Hcemorrhage is generally not so much to be dreaded as in lacerations 



