94 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



severe cervicitis, the cervix often has a far greater trans- 

 verse diameter than the body of the uterus. 



Just in front of the cervix, the body of the bovine uterus 

 is small and inconspicuous when compared with the size of 

 the uterus as a whole. Externally it is ordinarily two to 

 three inches long, but the originally separate Muellerian 

 ducts are still faintly evident upon palpation, in the form of 

 a slight antero-posterior depression on the dorsal surface. 

 This depression gradually deepens into a distinct furrow, 

 soon the bifurcation is reached and the two distinct cornua 

 follow, constituting the chief volume of the uterus. Each 

 uterine horn has about sixty per cent of the transverse dia- 

 meter of the body. 



The examiner recognizes the non-pregnant uterus by its 

 continuity with the cervix anteriorly, its bicornual charac- 

 ter, and its firmness and evenness to the touch, each cornu 

 forming the segment of a circle with its convex border pre- 

 senting dorso-anteriorly. In the healthy uterus of the heifer, 

 the uterine body and horns are very firm, smooth, regular, 

 thus serving to differentiate them clearly from all other pel- 

 vic or abdominal viscera. The cornu of the heifer is one- 

 half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter at the base, and 

 tapers gradually to a fine point at the ovarian end, where it 

 passes almost imperceptibly into the oviduct. The examiner 

 should trace each cornu separately, as it extends obliquely 

 forward to the right or left, where it soon turns downward, 

 thence backward and upward by a regular curved line, to 

 end, the right cornu on the right side, the left cornu to the 

 left, in close proximity to its base, thus describing an almost 

 complete circle. The healthy cornu of the heifer is eight to 

 ten inches long on its convex border, thus forming an in- 

 complete circle two and one-half to three inches in diameter. 

 The entire organ may, therefore, be picked up through the 

 rectal floor and held in the hollow of the hand. The uterus 

 of the cow is larger, is slightly uneven owing to longitudinal 

 wrinkles, and may be slightly sinuous because the cornua are 

 longer than their broad ligaments. That is, the uterus, once 

 pregnant, never wholly returns to the original form, outline 



