Uterine Infections 459 



umes of menstrual debris. In some cases the infection may- 

 invade the cystic horn after puberty, but this cannot be 

 definitely determined. 



Clinically the condition is recognized by rectal palpation. 

 Ordinarily attention is drawn to the genital tract by steril- 

 ity. Sometimes, when the occluded horn becomes greatly 

 distended, it inhibits estrum ; sometimes estrum occurs, but 

 conception fails and an examination is made. I have not 

 observed pregnancy in the anatomically sound horn when 

 the other horn is cystic and occluded at its base. It is not 

 quite clear why this should be so if the one horn is normal. 

 Upon rectal palpation the examiner finds one horn normal 

 while the other horn has a narrow hard area at its base and 

 the apex may be distended very greatly with fluid. Those 

 which I have seen have contained from 8 to 25 or 30 ounces 

 and are very tense. It is difficult in some cases to get a 

 clear tracing of the condition, because the cystic horn bulges 

 out over the normal one and covers its own base, rendering 

 accurate palpation very difficult. Therefore it requires pa- 

 tience to reach a proper diagnosis. The ovaries are usually 

 normal. 



The actual condition varies greatly. It is to be regarded 

 fundamentally as an arrest in the development in the ducts 

 of Mueller, as has already been described in Chapter IV and 

 illustrated in Fig. 164, which shows a non-infected uterus 

 with several transverse septa in the horns. In the next 

 figure, 165, is shown a typical case of cystic cornu of the 

 type which occasionally becomes infected, the contents be- 

 coming purulent. 



The prognosis has not been definitely learned for cases in 

 general. It would appear that the removal of the cystic 

 horn with the ovary should bring about favorable results. 

 In one instance I amputated a cystic cornu in which the 

 cyst contents had undergone purulent changes. The animal 

 had not been in estrum for a great many months. As soon 

 as she recovered from the operation, estrum returned regu- 

 larly, but the result of breeding has not been learned. So 

 far as I could see, she should breed. 



