DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 201 



which the head can easily be reached and punctured. In such a case 

 the fore limbs have been left in the womb, and these may now be brought 

 up into the passage and when dragged upon, the collapsed head will 

 follow. 



If the distention is not sufficient to have rendered the bony walls of 

 the cranium thin and fragile, so that they can be compressed with the 

 hand after puncture, a special method may be necessary. A long incision 

 should be made from behind forward in the median line of the cranium 

 with an embryo tomy knife (Plate xxi,Fig. 1) or with along einbryotoine 

 (Plate xx, Fig. 3). By this means the bones on the one side are com- 

 pletely separated from those on the other, and may be made to overlap 

 and perhaps to flatten down. If this fails they may be cut from the 

 head all around the base of the rounded cranial swelling, by means of 

 a guarded chisel (Plate xx, Fig. 8) and inallcjt, after which there will be 

 no difficulty in causing them to collapse. 



DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN OF THE CALF ASCITES. 



This is less frequent than hydrocephalus, but no less difficult to deal 

 with. With an anterior presentation the fore limbs and head may come 

 away easily enough, but no effort will advance the calf beyond the 

 shoulders. The first thought should be dropsy of the belly, and the 

 oiled hand introduced by the side of the chest will detect the soft and 

 fluctuating yet tense sac of the abdomen. If there is space to allow of 

 the introduction of an einbryotomy knife the abdomen may be freely 

 cut with this, when the fluid will escape into the womb and parturition 

 may proceed naturally. If this can not be effected a long trocar and 

 c, 1 11 u In may be passed between the first two ribs and straight on beneath 

 the spine until it punctures the abdomen. (Plate xviu, Fig. 2.) Then 

 the trocar is to be withdrawn and the liquid will flow through the can- 

 ula and will be hastened by traction on the fore limbs. In the absence 

 of the trocar and canula, two or three of the first ribs may be cut 

 from the breastbone so that the hand may be introduced through the 

 chest to puncture the diaphragm with an embryotomy knife and allow 

 an escape of the water. In some slighter cases a tardy delivery may 

 take place without puncture, the liquid bulging forward into the chest 

 as the abdomen in compressed in the pelvic passages. With a posterior 

 presentation the abdomen may be pum-tured more easily either in the 

 flank or with a trocar and canula through the aims. 



GENERAL DROPSY OF THE CALF. 



This occurs from watery blood or disease of some internal organ, like 

 the liver or kidney, and is recognized by the general putted up and 

 rounded condition of the body, which pits everywhere on pressure but 

 without crackling. If not too extreme a case the calf may bo extracted 

 after it has been very generally punctured over the body, but usually 

 the only resort ir to extract it in pieces. (See Kmbryotoiny). 



