2o6 Veterinary Obstetrics 



ing 600 to 700 grams, may be grasped in the open hand and car- 

 ried relatively far backwards into the pelvic cavity. As a result 

 of estrum, the uterus is normally quite hyperaemicfor three days, 

 abnormally for four to six days, so that it is consequently larger, 

 denser and firmer, which condition causes it to be readily felt 

 just beneath the rectum. 



It is to be noted that the uterus frequently does not lie 

 exactly on the median line but either to the right or left, 

 and indeed far more frequently to the right side. The find- 

 ing of the ovaries and their identification, which for the be- 

 ginner is often very trying and sometimes accompanied by 

 errors leading to fatal consequences, requires much training. 

 The latter increases, however, the self-confidence in the proper 

 examination and handling of the case and renders inner palpa- 

 tion, in the course of time, more and more easy, until it finally be- 

 comes no longer disagreeable. In case of veterinarians with 

 limited experience, the ovary is most safely discovered by first 

 grasping the uterus and thence palpating along the uterine cornu 

 on the concave side until the apex is reached, from whence, 

 slightly laterally, the ovary is loosely attached in the anterior 

 border of the broad ligament, where it can be picked up. More 

 experienced practitioners search directly for the ovarj- on the 

 anterior border of the broad ligament and draw it backwards. 

 In cases of pregnancy or pyometra the ovaries are carried far 

 forward and downward into the abdominal cavity and thus render 

 it difficult or impossible to reach and detect them. They are also 

 frequently difficult to locate and grasp when the animal strains 

 violently and the rectal walls are tensely stretched and also 

 where the ovary is enclosed within the ovarian sinus, that is 

 where we have to do with a so-called encapsulated ovary. In 

 such cases it avails nothing, even if theos uteri projects into the 

 vagina far enough to be grasped, to draw upon the cervix, 

 either with the naked hand or with it wrapped in a small clean 

 towel. In case of slight filling of the uterus with pus or other 

 liquid, the ovary \y'\n% beneath the uterine horn may be made 

 accessible by turning the uterus on its long axis or the hand, w^ith 

 which the palpation is being made, passed underneath it, but not 

 by elevating the abdominal floor by means of a beam. 



The examination of the ovaries includes the size, form, 

 character of the surface, consistence of the tissues and presence 



