PARTURITION. 227 



about three o'clock P.M. I found her very uneasy, breathing laboriously ; 

 the mouth hot, and the bowels costive ; but I could not discover any trace 

 of another foetus. She was put into a warm bath, and a dose of opening 

 medicine was administered. 



About five o'clock she got rid of one dead and two living puppies. 



2nd. She is still very ill ; she evinces great pain when pressed upon the 

 abdomen ; and it is manifest that she has another fetus within her. I 

 ordered a dose of the ergot, and in about twenty minutes a large puppy 

 was produced, nearly dying. She survived with due care. 



I cannot refrain from inserting the following case at considerable length : 



Sept. 4, 1820. A very diminutive terrier, weighing not 5 Ibs., was sent 

 to my hospital in order to lie in. She was already restless and panting. 

 About eight o'clock at night the labour pains commenced ; but until eleven 

 scarcely any progress was made. The os uteri would not admit my finger, 

 although I frequently attempted it. 



At half-past eleven, the membranes began to protrude ; at one the head 

 had descended into the pelvis and the puppy was dead. In a previous 

 labour she had been unable to produce her young, although the ergot 

 of rye had been freely used. I was obliged to use considerable force, 

 and she fought terribly with me throughout the whole process. At half- 

 past one, and after applying considerable force, I brought away a large 

 fetus, compared with her own size. On passing my finger as high as 

 possible, I felt another fetus living, but the night passed and the whole 

 of the following day, and she ate and drank, and did not appear to be 

 much injured. 



Several times in the day I gave her some strong soup and the ergot. 

 Some slight pains now returned, and by pressing on the belly the nose of 

 the foetus was brought to the superior edge of the pelvis. The pains 

 again ceased, the pudenda began to swell from frequent examination, the 

 bitch began to stagger, and made frequent attempts to void her urine : 

 with extreme difficulty in accomplishing it. I now resorted to the crotchet ; 

 and after many unsuccessful attempts, in which the superior part of the 

 vagina must have been considerably bruised, I fixed it sufficiently firmly to 

 draw the head into the cavity of the pelvis. Here for a while the shoulder 

 resisted every attempt which I could make without the danger of detrun- 

 cating the foetus. At length by working at the side of the head until 

 my nails were soft and my fingers sore, I extracted one fore leg. The other 

 was soon brought down ; another large puppy was produced, but destroyed 

 by the means necessary for its production. This was the fruit of two hours' 

 hard work. 



She was completely exhausted, and scarcely able to stand. When 

 placed on the ground she staggered and fell at almost every step. Her 

 efforts to void her urine were frequent and ineffectual. 



At four o'clock I again examined her ; the external pudenda were sore 

 and swelled, and beginning to assume a black hue. It was with con- 

 siderable difficulty that I could introduce my finger. A third fetus 

 irregularly presented was detected. I could just feel one of the hind 

 legs. No time was to be lost. I introduced a small pair of forceps by 

 the side of my finger, and succeeded in laying hold of the leg without 

 much difficulty, and, with two or three weak efforts from the mother, I 

 could scarcely call them pains, I brought the leg down until it was in 

 the cavity of the pelvis. I solicited it forward with my finger, and, by 



Q2 



