102 BOVINE OBSTETRICS 



ante partum may terminate fatally when of long standing, as a 

 case reported by Vermast teaches. Vermast (Holland) examined 

 a cow which went down twenty-two days before parturition, 

 without showing any other phenomena. The owner thought 

 she had " wolf in the tail," that is, a softening of two or three 

 last coccygeal vertebrae, a condition which is seen almost in 

 every cow well advanced in pregnancy, and of course cannot be 

 the cause of paraplegia. After the calf was delivered, her con- 

 dition became worse and worse, so that she had to be killed 

 finally. Post-mortem examination revealed the following : 

 Abscesses iu the right lung; the quadratus lumborum, ilio psoas 

 and psoas parvus were very pale and showed serous infiltration; 

 serum had accumulated between the dura mater spinalis and 

 arachnoidea; the spinal cord of the lumbar region was some- 

 what softened and the gluteal muscles atrophied. 



Therapeutics.— The treatment of such patients will be 

 •mainly a dietetic one. They are given food which is not volum- 

 inous but easily digested and nutritious. They should receive 

 a horizontal, thick straw bed, the hindquarters must not be 

 lower than the fore legs, as otherwise prolapsus vaginae might 

 appear. To prevent bed sores, the cow must be turned over 

 twice daily. In order to do this, the legs are flexed against the 

 body of the cow, three men are stationed on the opposite side 

 against her withers, back and loins, to roll her Over her legs. 

 It is strictly to be avoided to roll her over her back. Many 

 owners are not satisfied with such advice alone ; they demand 

 medications. The latter is not necessary, but when it cm- 

 tributes to ease the owner and obliges him to execute the other 

 suggestions, it is well to prescribe, for instance, a liniment to 

 be applied several times daily to back and spine, rubbing of 

 the legs with spirits of camphor, and massage with a straw 

 wis]) may influence the circulation favorably. Sometimes the 

 question is raised whether such a patient should not be placed 

 upon her legs. 



When the efforts of the cow indicate that she can rise with 

 some assistance, two or three men properly placed and directed 

 may assist her to do so. To raise a cow with pulleys, or to 



