DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 369 



TWISTING OF THE NECK OF THE WOMB. 



This condition is very uncommon in the mare, though 

 occasionally seen in the cow, owing to the greater laxity of 

 the broad ligaments of the womb in that animal. It consists 

 in a revolution of the womb on its own axis, so that its right 

 or left side will be turned upward (quarter* re volution), or the 

 lower surface may be turned upward and the upper surface 

 downward (half revolution). The effect is to throw the nar- 

 row neck of the womb into a series of spiral folds, turning in 

 the direction in which the womb has revolved, closing the 

 neck and rendering distention and dilatation impossible. 



The period and pains of parturition arrive, but in spite of 

 continued efforts no progress is made, neither water-bags 

 nor liquids appearing. The oiled hand introduced into the 

 closed neck of the womb will readily detect the spiral direc- 

 tion of the folds on its inner surface. 



The method of relief which I have successfully adopted in 

 the cow may be equally happy in the mare. The dam is 

 placed (with her head up-hill) on her right side if the upper 

 folds of the spiral turn toward the right, and on her left side 

 if they turn toward the left; and the oiled hand is introduced 

 through the neck of the womb and a limb or other part of 

 the body of the foetus is seized and pressed against the wall 

 of the womb, while two or three assistants turn the animal 

 over her back toward the other side. The object is to keep 

 the womb stationary while the animal is rolling. If success 

 attends the effort the constriction around the arm is suddenly 

 relaxed, the spiral folds are effaced, and the water-bags and 

 foetus press forward into the passage. If the first attempt 

 does not succeed it may be repeated again and again until 

 success crowns the effort. Among my occasional causes of 

 failure have been the prior death and decomposition of the 

 foetus, with the extrication of gas and overdistention of the 

 womb, and the supervention of inflammation and inflamma- 

 tory exudation around the neck of the womb, which hinders 

 untwisting. The first of these conditions occurs early in the 

 horse from the detachment of the foetal membranes from the 

 wall of the womb, and as the mare is more subject to fatal 



