204 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



channel seems a hopeless task ; the womb may be equally di*y and 

 inflamed and swollen, so that its lining membrane or even its entire 

 thickness is easily torn; the fetal membranes have lost their natural 

 unctuous and slippery character, and cling firmly to the dry walls 

 of the womb, to the dry skin of the calf, or to the hands of the op- 

 erator; the dead and putrefying calf may be so bloated with gases 

 that the womb has been overdistended by its presence, and the two 

 adhere so closely that the motion of the one on the other is practically 

 impossible. In other cases reckless attempts to cut the calf in pieces 

 have left raw surfaces with projecting bones wliich dangerously 

 scratch and tear the womb and passages. 



In many cases the extreme resort must be had of cutting the fetus 

 to pieces (embryotomy), or the still more redoubtable one of Csesar- 

 ean section (extraction through the flank). 



DISSECTION OF THE INBORN CAI.F (EMBRYOTOMY). 



In some cases the dissection of the calf is the only feasible means 

 of delivering it through the natural passages; and while it is espe- 

 cially applicable to the dead calf, it is also on occasion called for in 

 the case of the living. As a rule, the living calf should be preserved, 

 if possible, but if this threatens to entail the death of the cow it is 

 only in the case of oiTspring of rare value that its presentation is to 

 be preferred. To those acquainted with the toil, fatigue, and discom- 

 fort of embryotom}^ no discussion is necessary so long as there is a 

 prospect of success from the simple and generally easier method of 

 rectifying the faulty position of the calf. But when the correction of 

 the position is manifestly impossible, when distortions and monstrosi- 

 ties of the fetus successfully obstruct delivery, when the pelvic pas- 

 sages are seriously contracted by fractures and bony growths, when 

 the passages are virtually almost closed by swelling, or when the calf 

 is dead and excessively swollen, no other resort may be available. In 

 many cases of distortion and displacement the dismemberment of the 

 entire calf is unnecessary, the removal of the offending member being 

 all that is required. It will be convenient, therefore, to describe the 

 various suboperations one by one and in the order in Mhich they are 

 usually demanded. 



AMPUTATION OF THE FORE LIMB. 



In cutting off a fore limb it is the one presenting that should be 

 selected, since it is much more easily operated on, and its complete 

 removal from the side of the chest affords so much more space for 

 manipulation that it often makes it easy to bring the other missing 

 limb or the head into position. The first consideration is to skin the 

 limb from the fetlock up and leave the skin attached to the body. 

 The reasons for this are: (a) That the skin is the most resistant 



