Dropsy of the Amnion and Allantois 429 



forcibly and carefully dilated until the hand can be passed into 

 the uterine cavity, when the membranes should be ruptured and 

 the excessive fluids allowed to escape or siphoned out. The pre- 

 senting parts of the fetus should be secured by cords and, by 

 gradual traction, the further dilation of the os uteri accomplished 

 and the fetus extracted. This requires much patience and time, 

 but in our judgment should be persisted in until the operation is 

 completed and the entire contents of the uterus, except the 

 placenta, have been removed. 



In our experience, when we have dilated the os uteri some- 

 what and ruptured the membranes, allowing the fluid to escape, 

 and then awaited normal labor, we have been disappointed. The 

 labor pains have not appeared, the weakened uterus has under- 

 gone infection, the fetus has quickly perished, become emphyse- 

 matous, its extraction has been made highly difficult, and the 

 mother has perished as a result. We believe, therefore, that the 

 delivery should be completed as soon as possible after it has been 

 begun, and that no interval should be allowed to occur between 

 the dilation of the os uteri, the rupture of the fetal membranes, 

 and the extraction of the fetus. The effort should be continuous 

 from the beginning to the end. 



It should be observed that, in inserting the hand into the 

 uterus of the cow, in this disease, before the fetus has been ex- 

 tracted, there is a peculiar condition of the organ, which tends 

 to confuse the inexperienced operator. In normal pregnancy 

 the body of the uterus becomes enlarged and the median partition 

 between the two cornua recedes from the cervix. In hydrops 

 amnii in the cow, the inter-cornual partition does not recede from 

 the cervix, so that, as soon as the hand enters the uterus, it 

 comes in contact with this perpendicular partition between the 

 two cornua, in a very unexpected place, in close proximity to 

 the cervix. This fact should be recognized and injury to this 

 structure avoided. 



Harms suggests that, in some cases, the os uteri has retreated 

 so far into the abdominal cavity that it cannot well be reached 

 to be dilated and that, in such, the animal should be turned upon 

 its back in order to bring it well within reach. This position 

 also favors the expulsion of the remaining waters. Harms also 

 suggests that animals which have suffered from hydramnii 

 should not again be used for breeding purposes, although in- 



