IK? (>/!sTi-rn:/(\i/. n/ys/DLixn'. 



sovoval times. This, howevov, is not commeiulablo, unless performed 

 with the greatest gentleness and care ; and if tlune is nethiiig urgent, 

 it would be preferable to nuike an examination at another time, rather 

 than incur the dangerous results that might follow this numipulation. 



The prominences of the fix^'tus might be mistaken for the hard nuisses 

 of faeces lodged in the intestines ; but a distinction can generally be 

 nuide by the rapidity with which these prominences appear and dis- 

 appear through the sudden movements of the young creature, com- 

 pared witli the slow, regular, peristaltic motion of the intestine and its 

 tivcal contents. 



Vaijiital cxplonxtion, as mentioned, can only bo practised on the 

 larger animals. It is t\ot attemled witli any more danger than the 

 rectal examination ; but though it is of great value in wonum, especially 

 when ballottfiiu'iit^ is resorted to, yet it is not nearly so useful in 

 anin^als ; for in consequence of their horizontal position, this reper- 

 cussion is not possible. Neither is it so valuable as the exploration 

 per rectum. It is practised with the animal in the same position as for 

 the last-named examination, and the hand, well lubricated with soft 

 soap or, better still, with olive oil, is inserted into the vagina as far as 

 the cervix uteri. In the tirst months of gestation the uterus descends 

 into the abdomen ; consequently, the vagina is longer and more 

 inclined downwards in front : while the fcvtus is beyond reach of the 

 hand. Towards tlie fifth or sixth month, the uterus, in expanding in 

 every direction, approaches the vulva, and the canal of the vagina being- 

 shortened, it can be perceived in the pelvic cavity. The same manipu- 

 latory numanivres as were practised in the rt^ctum, amy be employed 

 in the vagina at this time, but the results are far from being so satis- 

 factory ; the vaginal examination should, therefore, never be preferred 

 to that by the rectum. 



Ballottenient may be resorted to in the smaller animals, by placing 

 them in a vertical position ; but the other signs of pregnancy are usually 

 so manifest in them, that generally there is little ditVicultyin diagnosing 

 their condition. 



Auscultation has not been much employed in the diagnosis of preg- 

 nancy in the lower animals, though its value in womau is inideuiable ; 

 as since its introduction by M. Mayor, of Cieneva, in 1818, its utility 

 has been frequently and successfully put to the test, not only to ascer- 

 tain whether there was a fa^tus, but also whether it was alive. In 

 woman, either the uncovered ear or the stethoscope is applied to the 

 abdomen ; the latter is generally preferred, as by it the sound is 

 limited, as well as defined. 



The pulsation of the fa'taJ heart, or double hattement, consists of a 

 rapid succession of short, regular, double pidsations, dilTering from 

 those of the adult heart in rhythm and frequency ; the sound being like 

 the mutlled ticking of a watch, or tlie pulsations of the heart of a new- 



' The haUoffemfiit ov ropereiissiini to asoortain the prosonco of a. ftvtiis in woiuau, is 

 produced by the operator placing his patient in the upiiglit position, in- if in bed, raisiing 

 her shoiiUlers. The forefinger is then introduced into the vagina and placed on tlie 

 cervix uteri, while the other hand is employed to keep the uterine tumour steady ; then 

 suddenly but slightly jerking upwards the point of the intrmluced tinger, ft sensation is 

 experienced of something having receded from it, and whicti he will percei\e to fall 

 again on the point of his tinger in a moment or two. The jerk oi the tinger upon tlu- 

 iiead of the fa-tus causes it to float upwards a little in the liquor amnii, and its weight 

 makes it descend ag.iin. We have seen that a kind of external, or flank ballotlemettt, 

 can be practised in the Cow. 



