ACCIDEXTS OF PREGXANCY. 'iQ'i 



be resorted to at once, in the majority of cases, if not in all. Never- 

 theless, even here we tind excellent practitioners recommending absten- 

 tion, at least for some hours, according to circumstances. For instance, 

 Dupont,^ of Boi-deaux, a good authority, does not at all agree with 

 the generally received opinion that death of the fujtus nmst neces- 

 sarily immediately follow rupture of the membranes, as he has met 

 with many cases in which it has lived for a long interval — twenty-four 

 to thirty-six hours — after the escape of the liquor anuiii ; and he does 

 not hesitate to affirm that respiration commences with, and is con- 

 tinued after, the evacuation of this fluid, especially if the young 

 creature is in a natural position — tiie fore-limbs and nose in the os. 

 He will not say so much for all the positions of the foetus, though he 

 has effected delivery in them fifteen to twenty hours after escape of 

 the " waters," and the creature has respired and lived. He thinks that 

 the popular opinion is due to the fact, that the attention of the obstetrist 

 is solely directed to preserving the life of the mother, and that the fa'tus 

 is killed through the violent compression it sustains in a narrow pelvis, 

 from the powerful contractions of the uterus, without the intervention 

 of other causes. 



When some time — days, for instance — has elapsed since this stage 

 in parturition was reached, and labour has completely subsided, the 

 case is ditlicult, and it will again depend upon circumstances whether 

 expectant or active treatment shall be adopted. An exploration should 

 certainly be made, and if it can be ascertained that the membranes are 

 not ruptured, while there is no straining and the condition of the 

 animal is satisfactory, then it will be advisable to wait until indications 

 of labour are once more manifested. If the state of the animal is not 

 80 favourable and delivery is decided upon, and should the os be imperme- 

 able, or not sufliciently dilated to allow the passage of the foetus, then 

 it must be opened either by careful manipulation, uterine douches, the 

 uterine dilating bag, or other modes which will be alluded to when 

 treating of dystokia. 



When a long period has intervened, and the general and local dis- 

 turbance in tiie animal necessitate active interference on the part of 

 the veterinary obstetrist, then of course the first and most urgent indi- 

 cation is to remove the cause — the putrefying foetus — from the uterus. 

 When the os is not sufficiently open to admit the hand and the with- 

 drawal of the foetus, then the case is one of difficult labour, complicated 

 by the death of the fa-tus and its state of decomposition. If the os 

 should chance to be contracted, it must either be dilated by the means 

 we have named, or if these do not succeed (though they often do), then 

 the cer\ix must be incised. In very exceptional cases, gastro-hyster- 

 otoniy has to be performed if the foetus or its remains arc to be got rid 

 of ; and in some instances, owing to the emphysematous condition of 

 the fcetus, its shape or size, or deformity of the genital passages of the 

 mother, embryotomy is called for. 



When the uterus is emptied of all the matters, solid and fluid, it 

 contains, it should be thoroughly cleansed by repeated injections or 

 washings with tepid water, and finally with someanti-putrescent fluid — 

 weak solutions of chloral, permanganate of potassium (Condy's fluid), or 

 of carbolic or salicylic acids. General treatment may also be necessar}*, 

 and this must be regulated according to the indications. In all the 

 manipulative operations subsequent to delivery, it will generally be 



* Archive Vcterinaire, June, 1876. 



