VAGINITIS. 641 



to protracted and laborious delivery, which necessitates manipulatory 

 efforts, the use of instruments, etc., the passage of a very voluminous 

 foetus, the pressure of a pessary, or any other cause which may lead to 

 irritation, bruising, or wounding of the mucous membrane. In very ex- 

 ceptional instances, the inflammation may be indirectly due to the action 

 of cold on the skin, or, as Saint-Cyr observes, the ingestion of very cold 

 water — though this is more likely to induce metritis or metro-vaginitis. 



The inflammation may lead to, or be complicated with, ulceration, 

 gangrene, or mortification to a greater or less extent. 



The labia of the vulva and the lining membrane are more or less swollen, 

 the latter being of a deep or bright red, brown or livid hue ; there may 

 be also patches of congestion and ecchymoses, with wounds or abrasions, 

 and in rare cases we may»find phlyctaenae on the surface of the mem- 

 brane. The temperature of the canal is also greatly increased, while its 

 walls are dry and often adhesive. Micturition is generally painful and 

 difficult, constipation is often present, and there is sometimes much itch- 

 ing in the region of the vulva, which is indicated by the continued attempts 

 the animal makes to rub the part. If the inflammation is severe and 

 extensive, fever will be manifested. 



When the inflammation has existed for one or two. days, the mucus 

 secreted by the membrane is greatly increased in quantity \ it is at first a 

 serous limpid fluid, sometimes streaked with blood ; then it gradually 

 becomes thicker and sero or muco-purulent, soiling the tail and the 

 thighs and hocks, and sometimes becoming so acrid as to cause removal 

 of the hair and excoriation of the skin. 



Simple vaginitis, of itself, is not a serious affection, and the inflam- 

 mation often subsides spontaneously in the course of a few days, or 

 rapidly yields to treatment. In some instances, however, it assumes a 

 troublesome, if not a grave character. When gangrene ensues we may 

 have infective inflammation in the surrounding parts, and large portions 

 of the membrane, or even the skin of the labia, may slough, while the 

 discharge is sanious and foetid. Baumeister describes a diphtheritic 

 form of vaginitis which he observed in a Cow that had calved a few days 

 before, and which died on the third day. At the autopsy, the vagina, as 

 well as the uterus, was found full of pseudo-membranous productions. 

 Another Cow which stood beside this one, and which had calved four 

 weeks earlier, contracted the disease a few days after the Cow that died, 

 and also perished — leading to the supposition that this form of vaginitis 

 is contagious. 



The treatment of simple vaginitis does not merit much consideration. 

 Cleanliness, attention to diet, and injections of cold or tepid water, or 

 mild astringents, into the vagina, generally succeed in subduing the in- 

 flammation. When, however, there is any tendency to acute inflammation 

 and gangrene, or there exists ulceration, sloughing, or even abrasions, 

 disinfecting treatment is advisable — a solution of carbolic acid (2 to 10 

 per cent.), permanganate of potass, or chlorinated or tar water, being 

 perhaps the best local applications. General constitutional treatment 

 may also be necessary, and especially if the fever runs high, and there 

 are indications of septic infection. 



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