202 Veterinary Obstetrics 



maniac cows have been restored to fertility and again become 

 pregnant. The remainder were mostly rendered at least 

 temporarily quiet. The prognosis is the more favorable when 

 the veterinary handling is begun early and the animal is not fed 

 too intensely. 



The prognosis becomes doubtful in fat heifers which have 

 never been pregnant, in old, deep-milking cows with depressed 

 regenerative powers, as well as in cases of old standing and those 

 in which the cysts have recurred six or more times. 



Estrum and pregnancy do not occur in cows whose ovaries 

 have undergone .senile atrophy or which have suffered atrophy 

 from the rupture, by compression, of ovarian cysts. It should be 

 noted, however, that a very small remnant of ovarian tissue may 

 possess much regenerative power because there may form within 

 six days in some ca.ses either large corpora lutea or one or two 

 cysts, as our collections very well show. 



A spontaneous recovery or rupture of the cysts has been ob- 

 served by us in a few cases of cows which had calved normally 

 two to six weeks before. And it is well to observe in our pre.sent 

 state of knowledge that it was not the use of posset or sillabub 

 that cau.sed the rupture of the very thin walled cyst any more 

 than the extreme filling of the rumen, which pressed upon the 

 ov^aries while the animal was lying down on a slanting floor, or to 

 severe pressure of feces. 



Nymphomaniac cows which are not handled tend to become 

 emaciated, wasted and, finally, to succumb to cachexy. 



In reference to the prognosis of prolapsus vaginae of non- 

 pregnant cows, experience teaches that, in so far as the causes 

 can be removed, and the atony of the pelvic diaphragm is not 

 extreme, the prolapse disappears within twelve to twenty days 

 or, if the cysts recur, the prolapse likewise returns. 



In hydro- and pyometra, the outlook needs be based upon the 

 duration of the affection, the volume of the collection, and 

 chiefly upon the facility with which the ovaries may be reached 

 and restored to their normal condition through rectal or vaginal 

 manipulation ; if these can be corrected, the results are often 

 excellent. 



