332 MATERXAL DYSTOKIA. 



To effect this, the right hand, in a state of supination (knuckles down- 

 wards, palm upwards), must be introduced beneath the foetus, and, if 

 possible, the left fore limb seized by the elbow ; then the operator, 

 turning his arm round, raises the body of the creature, at the same time 

 turning it so that the withers describe the arc of a circle from right to 

 left — from the right flank of the Cow towards the sacrum. 



Sometimes when the foetus is alive, at the moment this manoeuvre is 

 being executed it makes a movement which greatly assists the efforts of 

 the operator. 



If the dimensions of the vagina admit of it, the limbs of the foetus may 

 be drawn into the pelvis, and even as far as the vulva ; and while the 

 operator is acting as described on the upper part of one of the legs, an 

 assistant presses on the free portion, and by thus aiding in the version 

 considerably facilitates the task. 



By this procedure several obstetrists have been successful in readjust- 

 ing the uterus, through the medium of the foetus — the adjustment being 

 ascertained by the disappearance of the spiral mucous folds from the 

 vagina, and the patency of the canal. 



Nevertheless, it has been remarked that this operation is not so easy 

 as one would be inclined to imagine without testing it in practice. It 

 requires much force to raise and turn the foetus in this way ; and the 

 constricted vagina and powerful uterine contractions are formidable 

 obstacles to the exercise of that force. 



Some veterinarians, as Meyer and Losner, have succeeded in adjust- 

 ing a slightly twisted uterus by introducing the hands into the vagina, 

 and aided by assistants, who manipulated either with their hands or by 

 means of boards or sheets applied underneath the abdomen, so as to 

 set the organ straight. Of course, such attempts must be greatly pro- 

 moted if the foetus can be reached and used as an instrument in the 

 manner just alluded to. 



4. Dexoc's Procedure. — Denoc appears to have been the first 

 veterinarian who attempted reduction of this torsion by the simple 

 means stated above, but applied in such a manner as to merit the 

 designation of "original." His procedure marked a great step in 

 advance, so far as veterinary obstetrics are concerned. 



In 1845 he describes the case of a Cow^ unable to calve, but whose os 

 uteri was sufficiently dilated to allow him to pass his hand into the 

 uterus, where the foetus lay in a good position, but from which it could 

 not be expelled, owing to a wide membranous fold extending from the 

 cervix to the fundus of the organ. 



His manner of getting rid of the torsion consisted in suspending the 

 animal by a very narrow sack passed under its chest ; and two pulleys 

 having been fixed in the wall on the right side — one corresponding to 

 the fore limbs, the other to the hind ones — the fore legs were tied by a 

 cord which passed through the corresponding pulley, while the hind 

 ones were also secured by another cord running through the posterior 

 pulley. Five men were posted to the distal end of each of these cords, 

 and directed to pull. When this was done, the suspended Cow was 

 swung into a dorsal position. Then two strong men, placed on the left 

 side, were directed to push the animal's body to the right — a movement 

 which caused it suddenly to rotate. 



An exploration with the hand led to the discovery that the uterus 

 ^ Recueil de Mt'decine Velerinaire, 1845, p. 69. 



