45 o VETERINARY LECTURES 



the passage. Both limbs having been manipulated in this fashion, 

 delivery ensues. 



778. Plate XLVIII., Fig. 13, shows the tail and breech pre- 

 sented and pressed tight on to the brim of the pelvis. In the cow, 

 delivery may be managed as described in Plate XL VII., Fig. 10, but 

 in the mare, if the points of the hocks of the foal cannot be reached— 

 which is generally the case — the only operation, with safety to the 

 mother, is to remove a hind-leg of the foetus by cutting from the 

 stifle, through the hip-joint, to the rump-bone (ischium), liberating 

 the head of the femur — not an easy task — and to this attaching a 

 cord, which is pulled outwards by an assistant, while the operator 

 with a knife cuts through the muscles on the inside of the thigh. 

 The leg is thus extracted thigh foremost. After this the abdomen of 

 the foetus must be opened, and the contents of the belly and chest 

 pulled away. Then break through the large openings on the floor of 

 the right and left sides of pelvic bones (obturator foramina) ; through 

 these openings pass a stout rope in the form of a loop, and while the 

 operator presses the remaining hind-limb against the walls of the 

 empty abdominal cavity of the foal, this cord must be steadily and 

 forcibly pulled, and delivery will take place. Sometimes, however, 

 both hind-legs have to be removed. 



779. Plate XLVIII., Fig. 14, and Plate XLIX., Fig. 15, show 

 all four feet presented in the passage, the latter also showing head 

 turned back on the side or quarter. These cases are of frequent 

 occurrence in the mare, and each can be made either a very easy 

 operation or a most difficult one. It is the latter if some one has 

 pulled the fore-feet outside the passage as far as the knees, while 

 the head is beyond reach and pressed back into the uterus (as in 

 Plate XLVL, Fig. 7). This presentation is rendered more difficult 

 through having the hind-feet in the passage But, if seen early, or 

 before any interference has taken place (as shown in Plate XL VIII., 

 Fig. 14), the case may readily be adjusted by attaching strong cords 

 to the pasterns of the hind-limbs, and while the cords are pulled 

 alternately by assistants, the operator presses the fore-feet back 

 into the womb and delivery is accomplished. The hind-quarters 



