Embryotomy 649 



skin and skin muscle. It is frequently' best at this point to re- 

 move one shoulder subcutaneously, as described on page 645, and 

 follow with evisceration, as described on page 658, in order to 

 give greater operative room and increased mobility of the fetus- 

 Insinuate the hand between the skin and the deeper structures, 

 and forcibly separate the skin from the fetal body backward until 

 the last rib is passed. Force the finger tips through the abdom- 

 inal wall behind the last rib and, passing along the entire poste- 

 rior border of each last rib, separate the abdominal walls from 

 the ribs and sternum. After the abdominal muscles have been 

 detached and the fetus has been eviscerated, rotate the thorax 

 upon its long axis. This will cause a division of the vertebral 

 column near the dorso-lumbar articulation, and the anterior por- 

 tion of the fetus will fall away. 



Secure the two posterior feet with cords, unless this has already 

 been done ; spread the detached skin, which has been pushed 

 back from the thorax, carefully over the stump of the lumbar 

 vertebrae ; push the remnant of the fetal trunk into the uterus 

 with the hand, while an attendant draws upon the cords attached 

 to the hind feet and advances them along the genital passages, 

 thus causing a posterior presentation. This may result in a 

 dorso-pubic po.sition, w lich should be converted to dorso-sacral, 

 when the extraction of the fetus can be readily brought about. 



g. Destruction of the Pelvic Girdle in the Anterior 

 Presentation. Somewhat rarely, perhaps most frequently in 

 the cow, the pelves of the mother and fetus become interlocked 

 and the antero-external angles of the fetal ilia, I' Fig. 109, become 

 locked with the shafts of the maternal ilia I, at C, in such a man- 

 ner that any safe degree of traction fails to overcome it. 



Technic. Remove one anterior limb subcutaneously, page 

 645, and eviscerate, page 658, through an opening made by the 

 removal of two or three of the exposed ribs. Introduce the 

 chisel through this opening, carry it back with the hand and 

 place it against the shaft of the fetal ilium I'. Have an assistant 

 drive the chisel through the iliac shaft, from before to behind, 

 and, when the chisel blade is well buried in the ilium, revolve the 

 instrument forcibly upon its long axis and thoroughly divide the 

 pelvic girdle by separating the cut ends of the bone. Then 

 withdraw the chisel and replace it against the pubic brim, either 



