1 82 Veterinary Obstetrics 



to the relaxed ligament, and this presumption is not changed 

 by the presence of fibrous degeneration in the other gland. 

 Finally, in fibrous degeneration of the ovaries, the sinking 

 of the hips is only slight or moderate, never severe. 



In one nymphomaniac cow, the right sciatic ligament was 

 slightly sunken ; the left one, very markedly. The right ovary 

 showed a cyst the size of a hen's egg, with slight increa.se in cir- 

 cumference of the right uterine cornu : the left ovary was of the 

 size of a hazel nut and the left cornu the thickness of a man's 

 arm. 



The question if, probably, the .size and age of the cysts exert a 

 definite influence upon the degree of the uni- or bilateral sinking 

 of the broad ligaments must be answered in the negative. Our 

 observations teach that small, and especially the very small cysts 

 in heifers, often cause a very marked sinking of the ligaments, 

 and vice versa ; furthermore, now and then, the sinking on the 

 side corresponding to the smaller csst is materially greater, 

 and in cases of cysts varying greatly in size in the two 

 ovaries, the sinking in of the hips may yet be alike on both sides. 



From the standpoint of age, it seems clear, from our observa- 

 tions, that cows with old and large cysts, becau.se of the chronic 

 reflex irritation upon the sexual organs, through which the re- 

 laxation of the broad ligaments is caused, generally show also a 

 greater degree of sinking than those with newly formed cysts. 



When the sinking of the broad ligaments does not occur im- 

 mediately after calving, the anamnesis usually indicates that the 

 affected animal had already been in estrum several times at too 

 short intervals and too intense in character or continued for an 

 abnormally long period, without conception occurring. 



The degree of the sinking of the hips, which is sometimes more 

 marked at the the posterior border, and sometimes upon the flat 

 surface of the hips, but is usually equally evident in both areas, 

 is, as already stated, extremely variable. The .sinking is 

 very greatly emphasized by a high croup, which has no real 

 influence upon the sinking of the ligaments and has, under 

 normal conditions, merely the value of a blemish. In exag- 

 gerated ca.ses, the sunken broad ligaments of the pelvis con- 

 stitute an almost flat surface beneath the tail and, at the sides, 

 of the root of the tail, cause cavities the size of a fist. 



