426 Veterinary Obstetrics 



sudden thrust or blow with the hand, there may sometimes be 

 recognized a splashing sound. 



Examination per rectum reveals the uterus abnormally dis- 

 tended with fluid, constituting a vast, tense, immovable sac, 

 pushing the other viscera aside and filling, more or less com- 

 pletely, the entire abdominal cavity. The enlarged state of 

 the abdomen frequently leads the owner to suspect twin preg- 

 nancy or a fetus of abnormally large size. Since the fetus is of 

 higher specific gravity than the surrounding liquid, it may lie 

 so low down along the floor of the abdomen that it cannot be 

 readily felt per rectum in the uterus. The fetus, however, may 

 be felt by abdominal ballottement. It may also be determined, 

 by the presence or absence of fetal movements, whether the 

 fetus is still living. 



The OS uteri is generally found quite rigidly closed and in the 

 cow it is only with difficulty that the hand can be passed through 

 it. This does not differ materially from the normal condition of 

 the cervix uteri in the cow. 



The great weight of the accumulated fluid and the debilitated 

 state of the animal cause it to lie down a great deal. When the 

 amount of fluid becomes very great, it is frequently necessary to 

 aid the cow in regaining her feet, and finally, as the disea.se 

 advances, the patient becomes wholly unable to get up, even 

 with assistance. 



The diagnosis of the disease must depend largely upon the dis- 

 tension of the abdomen, the dullness upon percussion and the ex- 

 ploration per rectum. It must be differentiated from dropsy of 

 the abdomen, or ascites, and from dropsy of the kidney, or 

 hydronephrosis. The latter is exceedingly rare except in the 



pig- 



Ascites is quite rare in our domestic animals, except in the 

 bitch. When the fluid is intra-uterine, it may be differentiated 

 from that in the peritoneal cavity by rectal exploration. 



The causes of dropsy of the fetal membranes are not well de- 

 termined. Generally the disease .seems to depend largely upon 

 insufficient nourishment or improper diet. Kammermann records 

 that, in one year, following a wet summer and consequently dam- 

 aged fodder, the number of cases of dropsy of the amnion or 

 allantois was unusually large. Our observations have been some- 

 what parallel to this and we have noted, in certain stables of 



