IV. CAESARIAN SECTION OR GASTRO-HYSTEROTOMY. 



Caesarian section is the removal of a fetus or fetuses from the 

 uterus by means of an incision made through the abdominal 

 walls. 



It has its use as a last resort in an attempt to save the life of 

 the fetus, the mother, or both, when other forms of delivery are 

 impossible or impracticable. 



It is one of the oldest operations in history and has been per- 

 formed since the earliest times, both in human and veterinary 

 obstetrics. In earlier times it was performed chiefly with a view 

 to saving the life of the fetus, and in many cases that of the 

 mother was deliberately sacrificed in order to accomplish this 

 end. Since the advent of antiseptic surgery, added to the use 

 of anaesthetics, the operation has attained a wider application and 

 tends frequently to conserve the life of both mother and fetus. 



Quite naturally the operation is most readily carried out and 

 is most successful in the smaller domestic animals, both on ac- 

 count of their size and because of their comparative immunity to 

 septic infection. In the sow, bitch and cat it frequently occurs 

 that both parent and offspring survive if the operation is per- 

 formed at the proper time and under strict aseptic precautions. 



It is usually comparatively easy to extract a living calf from 

 the cow, but the mother, under present plans of operating, 

 generally succumbs. 



The operation may be successfully performed in the mare, in 

 so far as extracting a living foal is concerned, but we have no 

 records where the life of a mare has been thus saved. Neces- 

 sarily the foal must be extracted very early in case of difficult 

 labor, or it perishes because of the detachment of its placenta. 



The chief indications for the performance of hysterotomy in 

 the larger animals are : imminent death of the mother, where 

 there is hope of saving the life of the fetus ; displacements of 

 the gravid uterus, such as irreducible torsion or hernia ; and 

 extra-uterine gestation. 



In the sow, bitch and cat, should the pelvis be abnormally 

 narrow or a fetus become lodged anterior to the pelvis, whether 

 from over-size, mal-presentation or emphysema, embryotoni}- is 

 impossible, owing to the smallness of the pelvic canal; mutations 

 for the correction of deviations are well-nigh impossible; and forced. 



