6i6 Veterinary Obstetrics ^ 



of lateral movements the operator may be caught between the 

 post and the patient and his arm more or less seriously injured. 

 In other cases a cow suffering from dystokia may be confined in 

 a stanchion with a deep gutter behind her, and this may form a 

 constant menace to the veterinarian, if he makes a misstep. If 

 an animal must be operated upon with such a gutter in close 

 proximity, it .should be securely covered over with boards in such 

 a manner as to insure against accident, and over the.se there 

 should be spread a goodly amount of clean bedding. 



If the room, where the animal suffering from dystokia is con- 

 fined, is wholly inadequate for any of the reasons which we have 

 mentioned or for others, the animal should be removed to a 

 proper place for the work. If a mare or cow is able to walk, it 

 is an easy matter to move her to another building, where rea- 

 sonable comfort and convenience can be had ; but if she is re- 

 cumbent it is still no bar to getting her into a comfortable place. 

 If a goodl}^ amount of bedding is thrown upon the floor, a cow 

 or mare can be taken b}^ 4 or 5 men for a few feet, or a few rods 

 for that matter, without much delay or difflculty, if the veterina- 

 rian knows how to control their efforts. For this purpose it may 

 be necessary to demolish a partition or to take other action 

 which maj^ to some extent injure the owner's property or cause 

 him some labor to repair, but the operator is entitled to such 

 surroundings as will furnish him with a reasonable degree of 

 safety and comfort and permit him to do his work in a way 

 which will promise some hope of success. In many instances the 

 obstetrist must put up with very numerous inconveniences, but 

 these should be reduced to a minimum. 



The position of the pregnant animal during obstetric opera- 

 tions is of fundamental importance. Generally, in the larger 

 animals most operations can be best carried out with the patient 

 in the standing position. In this position the abdominal floor 

 slopes downward and forward below the pubis and the gravid 

 uterus drops forward toward the diaphragm. This admits of 

 more ready repulsion of the fetus, facilitates the correction of 

 any deviations in its extremities, and favors the carrying out of 

 most obstetric operations. 



Sometimes the animal, especially the cow, is exceedingly ob- 

 stinate and refuses to stand even under the greatest punishment. 

 It is usually of little use to lift the cow by force, becau.se she 



