ACCIHEXTS OF PJ{KC!XJ.\'CV. 105 



ost its contractility before death, and ininiediatoly after their produc- 

 tion ; when the organ has contracted after the accident, the extent of 

 the laceration is much diminished. The Hps of tlie wound are in some 

 cases thin and ragged, in others swollen and inflamed. The texture of 

 the uterus itself, in the vicinity of the rupture, may be quite healthy, or 

 it may be inflamed, softened, or gangrenous ; while the peritoneum is 

 normal or inflamed. The blood elTused into the abdominal cavity may 

 be in large quantity or scarcely noticeable, and it may or may not be 

 decomposed. 



According as the tissue of the uterus is more or less completely torn, 

 the ruptures have been divided into those which are " complete" and 

 " incomplete." In the first, the cavity of the organ communicates 

 freely with that of the abdomen ; while in the second, the peritoneum, 

 or sometimes a portion of the muscular layer, is intact. 



The foregoing remarks refer to longitudinal rupture of the uterus, but 

 Saint-Cyr alludes to w^hat the Italian veterinarians designate as semi- 

 mobile nterus, and which he believes to be allied to rupture. This is a 

 condition in which the uterus has been completely divided across, 

 either at the body or the cornua, and remains floating in the abdominal 

 cavity, being only suspended by the broad ligaments. The most 

 singular fact connected with these cases is, that although the uterus is 

 torn in this manner, its contents— the foetus and membranes — do not 

 escape ; the wound cicatrises, and the organ appears as a large cystoid 

 tumour. Ercolani, Veterinary Professor at the Bologna University, has 

 met with four instances of this extraordinary accident, the pathological 

 specimens being deposited in the museum of that institution. Their 

 history and description are as follows : 



1. The utenis of a Cow which contained in one of tlie cornua a fa>tus beyond its term, 

 and in the other horn such a great ([uantity of mucus that, so far as volume is concerned, 

 it Would be difficult to say which cornu was the largest. This uterus is completely 

 divided at thect-rvix and Huats in the nl>dominal cavity, being attache<l only by the broad 

 li(;aments, which are thin and distended. The detached portion of the uterus has a 

 globular form, and its perfectly smooth surface is everywhere covered by peritoneum ; 

 where the separation has taken place, the organ is closed by tlie cicatricial union of the 

 border of the rupture. The mucous membrane in the left cornu of this portion is loose, 

 and nhows numerous radiating cicatrices ; the ftrtus in the right cornu is indurated, and 

 apjiears to have lived bej'ond the ordinary pt-riod of gestation, to judge by the hoofs, as 

 Weil aa by the teeth, which are cut. The nose did not correspond to the opening of the 

 cornu, as the head was doubled on the left side of the neck. The vertex and occiput were 

 turned tipwards, ami closed a vast circular opvning resulting from llie <lestruction of the 

 partition separating the two cornua. The head adhered to the entire border of this 

 opening — unequal and ragged as it must have been ; and all that portion which projects 

 int(» the left cornu presents a large toumire., where not only is the skin abtsent, but even the 

 p«;ri>j9teum itself. Lying flat on one of its sides and curled uj>, the limbs twined towards 

 the head, and the muffle placed between the thighs, the f<itu-t represents a kind of great 

 discoid IkkIv. 



"2. Cornu of the utenu of a pregnant Cow, containing a completely develojjcd foetus, 

 markedly indurated. This cornu, j)erhaps ruptured during jiarlurition, is detached, and 

 hangs almoiit free in the ab<lomen ; while the rupture has cicatrised, and there is formed 

 a large kyst, evt-rywhere closed, ani> containing the fietus. The walls of the iiterus are 

 for the most part fibrous, and the fietal envelopes coriaceous. Like the precetling case, 

 this specimen w.-vs found in a Cow which had l>een slaughtered by the butcher ; the cornu 

 fell on the ground, after some few fibrous bands which attached it to the subdumbar 

 region had been cut through. 



:{. The uterus of a Sheep arrived at the termination of pregnancy ; the organ ha.s been 

 torn in the vicinity of the vagina, anil remains free in the abiJominal cavity. In this 

 instance, also, the uterus forms a completely closed kyst, which contains a very much 

 indurated lamb. In d^-taching this organ, an irregular cicatrix is seen, which leads to the 

 supposition that the accident was due to torsion of the cervix. 



