ACCIDENTS OF rHKHXAXt'Y'. 211 



tile force. To counterbalance this, there is the small size of the foetus, 

 which does not require so much space for its passa^'e as if it were full 

 grown ; so tliat the dilViculty in removing' it is less on this account, 

 though the other dilliculties the obstetrist has so often to encounter in 

 parturition may all be present. 



Results. — Abortion is always a serious accident, if only from the 

 loss of the fcEtus. It is frequently complicated by haimorrhage, which 

 may primarily have been the cause of uterine action ; it may also result 

 in rupture of the organ, from the efforts the animal makes to overcome 

 the resistance oflered by the cervix ; indeed, we may have the usual 

 complications that attend parturition. But in many cases the com- 

 plications are few and trilling, the animals scarcely experiencing any 

 inconvenience, and retaining all their useful qualities unimpaired. 

 When the accident occurs in the Cow at an early period — before the 

 fifth month — the secretion of milk is generally interrupted, often for a 

 year, as the mamnuu have not had time to experience the reilex or sym- 

 pathetic influence which stimulates them into activity ; when, how- 

 ever, it takes place in the last half of pregnancy the seci'etion may be 

 established, though the yield is usually diminished, and the glands do 

 not furnish tiieir ordinary quantity until the next pregnancy. 



Abortion may produce prolapsus of the uterus and vagina, and some- 

 times even of the rectum. 



At an early period of pregnancy, as we have mentioned, when the 

 foetal and uterine attachments are not very close, the ovum or foetus 

 may be expelled with the w^iole of the membranes ; but as the process 

 has advanced this result is less probable, and particularly with the 

 Cow. The membranes are frequently retained, wholly or partially, 

 when the fcctus comes away ; and owing to the condition of the cervix 

 and its rapid contraction, they are included in the uterine cavity and 

 constitute wliat is termed " retention of the placenta'' — often a serious 

 complication of abortion in the Cow after the first third of pregnancy, 

 the membranes decomposing and giving rise to putrid infection and other 

 alarming pathological conditions. 



In the simplest cases, oestrum appears in the C'ow in from one to two 

 weeks after the miscarriage, as after parturition, and conception may 

 occur then ; but not infrequently impregnation does not take place until 

 after several returns of this condition, and often a whole year elapses. 

 In other instances, oestrum does not appear until the full interval of 

 regular pregnancv has elapsed, and then the animal conceives almost as 

 readilv as before the niishap. Another very common result is a more 

 marked disturbance in the generative functions, in which there is a 

 tendency to abortion after every conception ; and with other animals 

 there remains an excitability of the generative organs, which is mani- 

 fested by an almost persistent state of oestrum, giving rise to nympho- 

 mania, accompanied by sterility. 



Pathologic.\l Anatomy. — The lesions occasioned by abortion are 

 varied, according to circumstances. In the majority of cases, and 

 especially when pregnancy has been well advanced, the maternal organs 

 are in a similar condition to that observed after normal parturition. 

 The OS is dilated or closed, but in general the cervix is a little softer 

 than in the unimpregnated state. The uterus is more or less contracted 

 on itself and looks congested, its vessels being voluminous varicose. 



