POSITION OF Till-: FiKTI'S IX THE UTEltrs. 137 



SECTION 11.— POSITION Ol' THK IdlTlS IN IHK UTERUS. 



The position of the fa'tus in the uterine cavity is pretty well constant 

 in the same species ; and this position it retains more or less during 

 intra-uterine existence and until parturition occurs, when it is changed. 



Brugnone, cited by Eainard and Saint-Cyr, writes : " If the uterus 

 of a Mare be opened longitudinally at the ninth or tenth month of 

 gestation, we find the fcetus with its head directed backwards, and bent 

 in such a way that its lower jaw touches the throat and its mouth the 

 breast. It forms an arc of a circle — the neck being in contact with the 

 sacrum, and the spine being bent round is turned towartls the right 

 or left side of the lower part of the abdomen. The limbs are Hexed, 

 the fore ones in such a manner that the knees reach the middle of the 

 head and tlie feet the umbihcus ; while the hind limbs are doubled 

 under the abdomen. The croup and haunches are at the bottom of the 

 uterus, in the vicinity of the stomach." The head may sometimes be 

 directed forwards. 



Colin states that towards the termination of pregnancy, the foetus of 

 the Mare lies with the belly upwards, the hinder limbs in the longest of 

 the uterine cornua, and the anterior limbs and head directed towards 

 the cervix uteri. 



In the Cow, according to Saint-Cyr, the uterus is curved downwards, 

 the superior convexity of the body being prolonged forward by the 

 cornu in which the fu'tus is partially developed. When the uterus is 

 opened, the ftctus is discovered with the head bent Imck, the body much 

 inclined and looking as if almost lying on one side, and pressing on 

 the empty cornu, which is considerably less developed than that of 

 the opposite side, and which is also lower. Otherwise, like the Foal, 

 the Calf is curved en arc, the head more or less near the sternum, and 

 the limbs flexed and close together (Fig. 46). 



According to Colin, the belly of the fa'tus is downwards in Ruminants, 

 and towards the concavity of the cornu, the head being directed 

 backwards. 



In multiparous animals, the fa'tuses are distributed in the two cornua, 

 one after the other, the head being usually turned toward the cervix 

 uteri, sometimes to the opposite side, and the abdomen lying towards 

 the concave portion of the cornua, wliere the broad ligaments are 

 attached and the vessels enter. In the Sow, however, it has been 

 noted that the young lie in a contrary direction ; the head, instead of 

 being presented to the cervix uteri, is turned towards the ovarian ex- 

 tremity of the cornu, though the abdomen and limbs always corre- 

 spond to the concave border of the horns, as it is there the placenta is 

 situated. 



In forty-three Cows and Sheep, Colin found in twenty-five the foetus 

 in the right cornu, and in the left cornu in eighteen. At first sight it 

 might be supposed that the preference for the right cornu was due to 

 the impediment offered to development in the left by the large digestive 

 organs of these animals ; but this difference cannnt have any influence 

 on the function of the ovaries, the dehiscence of the Graafian vesicles 

 in the right being apparently more frequent than in the left. In mul- 

 tiparous animals, the foetuses are rarely equal in number in both cornua, 

 though neither of the latter has a constant advantage over the other in 

 this respect. 



The position of the fcetus towards the termination of gestation may 



