TOnsmx OF TIIK UTHnrr.^, 315 



retains its position, being firmly maintained in it by tlio body of tho 

 uterus, whicb also receives the insertion of the broad lij^aments on its 

 lower face. This insertion causes tlie uterus to project above the 

 lif^amonts, which are very broad, particularly at their anterior border, 

 and widely separated from one another in front, near their lumbar 

 attachment. The li^'aments suspend the uterus loosely in the abdomen, 

 and allow it to become fully developed during pregnancy. At this 

 period, too, they become greatly increased in substance and length. As 

 gestation advances, nearly the whole of the great size of the uterus is 

 due to the development of the one horn in which the fd-tus is situated ; 

 and as the other horn retains its normal size, the twisting of this around 

 its ligament, and consequent torsion of the cervix, can be readily under- 

 stood. 



Such is the explanation of the accident given by Chauveau ; but 

 Goubaux does not quite assent to it. According to him, it is not 

 because one horn of the uterus is developed more than another, neither 

 is it owing to one of the broad ligaments being longer than its fellow ; 

 it is in consequence of the development of the cornua during gestation, 

 and their projecting greatly beyond their means of attachment or sus- 

 pension, the broad ligaments being thrown altogether back. During 

 Sregnancy the cornua are considerably lengthened, while the ligaments 

 o not increase in breadth, their points of attachment to the inner face 

 of the tlank or the ilium reniaining invariably the same. This projec- 

 tion of the gravid cornu beyond the broad ligament supporting it — and 

 which may be as much as nearly two feet — must render the production 

 of the torsion remarkably easy. We have shown that the uterus is sus- 

 pended in its ligaments as in a hammock, and if these ligaments increased 

 in width as the gravid organ is developed in size, so as not to bo over- 

 lapped by the cornua, then it might to a certain extent roll about in 

 the hammock, but could not twist around it. pjven if the uterus were 

 suspended at the extremity of the ligaments, as in the Mare, it would 

 be far less liable to torsion, and would swing in the abdomen like a kind 

 of pendulum. 



As it is, the projection of the gravid uterus beyond its means of sus- 

 pension, the peculiar attachment of the broad ligaments to the lower 

 face and concave border of the cornua, and a large proportion of the 

 weight being situated high above and in front of tliese ligaments — all 

 this makes us comprehend how a shock of any kind may throw tho 

 organ otT its hanmiock, and produce incomplete, or even complete, 

 torsion in the pregnant Cow without rupturing the hammock itself. 



RuetY and Ercolani have witnessed cases in whicli the torsion was 

 confined to the gravid cornu ; and Stocktleth mentions its occurrence in 

 the body of the uterus, in front of the cervix. Most frequently, how- 

 ever, it involves tlie vagina, as well as the cervix and body of the 

 organ. 



In certain cases alluded to by Zundel, the accident has been accom- 

 panied by rupture of tlie ligaments ; and instances are recorded by 

 Dense and Albrecht in which the rupture has extended to the uterus 

 itself. Rueff alludes to a case in which the foetus had even escaped into 

 the abdominal cavity from a uterus thus ruptured, and, developing in 

 the peritoneal sac, constituted an extra-uterine pregnancy. 



With regard to the direction of the torsion, several authorities have 

 maintained that it takes place from left to right. Others, however, 

 have found it to be in the contrary direction, and there appears to be no 



