6 14 Veterinary Obstetrics 



comfort that he shall wear still more clothing about his chest, it 

 should consist of cotton under-clothing without sleeves. 



One may work fairly well in a blouse with long sleeves bj' 

 rolling them up, but the rolled sleeves soon become saturated 

 with discharges from the animal and probably annoy the opera- 

 tor also by becoming unrolled. Moreover, the roll interferes to 

 some degree with the reach of the arm, and the operator cannot 

 bring the shoulder in so close contact with the vulva of the 

 patient. 



Some writers upon obstetrics advise the use of woolen instead 

 of cotton clothing and speak especially of a warm woolen jacket, 

 but this material is difficult to cleanse because it will not with- 

 stand boiling. The operator is consequently forced to resort to 

 the use of disinfectants which may prove more or less inefficient 

 for the purpose desired. 



The protection of the lower parts of the body from the waist 

 down offers a problem which varies greatly under different con- 

 ditions. In protracted cases of dystokia, ordinary overalls of 

 ducking fail to protect the operator's clothing, and he becomes 

 quite wet. 



Occasionally also the operator must kneel or lie down behind 

 a recumbent animal in a place which is none too clean, with the 

 result that, with any form of pervious clothing, he is soon sat- 

 urated to the skin. To guard the operator in these respects the 

 best plan that we have found is the wearing of rubber trousers, 

 which are highly efficient for the purpose and are reasonably 

 cheap and durable. These trousers, made of rubber cloth, are 

 quite impervious to fluids of every kind, so that one can kneel, 

 sit or lie in any position behind a recumbent animal with im- 

 punity. If to these we add rubber boots, the operator is in a 

 position to thoroughly protect himself and to come out of the 

 worst and most repulsive dystokia reasonably clean and com- 

 fortable. The rubber trousers and boots have the disadvantage 

 of not being very resistant to some antiseptics. A strong solution 

 of carbolic acid may ruin the fabric. However, they will with- 

 stand a moderately strong solution of antiseptics with comparative 

 impunity, and wash so easily that they can be quite thoroughly 

 cleansed in a mechanical way. They may be quite well disin- 

 fected after use with a solution of corosive sublimate, or still 

 better with formalin. 



