VA GINAL O VARIO TOM \ ' IN THE CO W. 131 



Wash and disinfect the tail and the perineum and flush 

 out the vagina with a 0.5 per cent, solution of carbolic acid 

 or lysol at a temperature of about 100° F. Insert the 

 vaginal dilator with one hand and push the prolongation at 

 the anterior end into the os uteri. With the other hand 

 elevate the handle of the dilator and depress and push for- 

 ward the uterus, thus rendering the roof of the vagina tense 

 and pushing it downward away from the rectum Carry 

 the scalpel into the vagina with the right hand and resting 

 it in the oval of the dilator make an incision through the 

 roof of the vagina, beginning at a point 8 to 10 cm. posterior 

 to the OS uteri and extending backward on the median line 

 for a distance of 2 or 3 cm. Be careful to make the incision 

 entirely through the mucosa, muscle and peritoneum at the 

 first cut, since any failure to complete it tends to cause the 

 peritoneum to separate from the muscular coat and form a 

 pocket between them, while the serous membrane being 

 very elastic renders it difficult to complete the incision. 

 Introduce two fingers through the incision, and reaching 

 over the side of the vagina to the right or the left, the right 

 or left ovary respectively is recognized lying immediately 

 against the lower part of the vagina, just at the anterior 

 border of the pubis, in a mass consisting of the cord-like 

 Fallopian tube and the fimbrise of its pavilion. The ovary 

 may be distinguished as a firm oval mass 2 to 4 cm. in length 

 and I to 2 cm. in its lesser diameter attached to the broad 

 ligament. If not promptly recognized by the sense of touch, 

 trace the vagina and uterus forwards with the fingers from 

 the vaginal incision to the cornua and follow them as they 

 bend forward and downward, and then backward and up- 

 ward to the oviducts, until the ovary is reached where it is 

 attached to the broad ligament, just beyond the fimbriated 

 end. 



Grasp the ovary between the fingers and draw it through 

 the incision into the vagina. Introduce the scissors or 

 emasculator with the other hand, and when the ovary is 



