694 Veterinary Obstetrics 



portion of the gravid uterus from revolving upon its long axis, 

 and once it has thus become displaced there are virtually no 

 natural means for its replacement. 



An additional factor in torsion of the uterus, which has 

 perhaps been over-emphasized by some obstetrists, is that, in the 

 uterus of the cow, the cornua curve downward, backward and 

 then upward, instead of curving upward and forward as in the 

 mare and most other animals, and that the broad ligament is 

 attached at first to the inferior side of the uterine cornua. This 

 in itself renders the organ unstable when it becomes gravid, and 

 it tends to make a partial revolution upon its long axis before it 

 can come to rest in a stable position upon the abdominal floor. 

 Some writers look upon this peculiarity in the conformation of 

 the organ itself as the chief factor in the frequency of torsion in 

 the cow, but it probably plays a very minor part. 



The accident, in the larger animals, consists of the revolution 

 of the gravid uterus upon its long axis, in which process its 

 broad ligaments must become involved. The torsion shows it- 

 self chiefly in the cervix and vagina. When the organ turns 

 upon its long axis, the broad ligaments are necessarily carried 

 along with it, and more or less incarcerate the organ, as if they 

 were tense cords wound spirally about it. 



In the smaller, multiparous animals, torsion usually involves 

 one cornu only. 



The gravid organ in torsion behaves very much the same as a 

 vStout bag filled with fluid contents. If such a bag is attached at 

 one end, and we attempt to revolve the free extremity upon its 

 long axis, the spiral constriction will occur, not in its middle but 

 at the end where it is attached and constricted by its mouth be- 

 ing tied shut. In the distended uterus, when it revolves upon 

 its long axis, the actual twist or spiral occurs ordinarily, not in 

 the uterine body or in the cornua, but in the constricted neck or 

 in the empty vagina just beyond. The method by which this 

 torsion is brought about is well demonstrated in Figs. 114-116. 

 The torsion may occur with equal facility to the right or to the 

 left. If the upper portion of the uterus turns to the right, while 

 the floor passes to the left, it is known as right torsion ; if it 

 revolves in the opposite direction, it is known as left torsion. 



The torsion may be of any degree compatible with the integ- 

 rity of the organ. As a general rule, it is scarcely recognizable 



