MORBID ALTERATWXS IN THE aEXEItATIl'E ORGAXS. 357 



and luiklest character, and in the majority of cases it will be attended 

 with entire success. Injections per rectum or vaginani, of emollient or 

 oily fluids, to which tincture of opium or extract of belladonna has 

 been added ; the ointment or extract of belladonna smeared around the 

 cervix or introduced into the os ; blankets or sacks steeped in hot water 

 and applied over the loins of the larger animals, or warm-water baths 

 for the smaller ones ; and, in certain cases, the administration of 

 draughts containing some soothing medicament — such as chloral, 

 chloroform, or opium ; — these are the means to be adopted. 



Bleeding has been advocated by some authorities — particularly on 

 the Continent ; but unless something very unusual in the general con- 

 dition of the animal demands it, the abstraction of blood is of very 

 questionable value. 



Opium is of much service, from the influence it possesses in con- 

 trolling the uterine spasms ; it is therefore to be recommended when 

 the " pains " are severe and frequent. It may be given in large doses, 

 both in draught and enema, and frequently. 



Chloral hydrate and chloroform, particularly the former, are of great 

 utility, and possess advantages over opium as soothing agents. 



For a very long time, belladonna has enjoyed the reputation — and 

 apparently with justice — of being one of the best agents for combating 

 spasm of the cervix uteri, and permitting dilatation of the os. Occa- 

 sionally its efficacy has been contested, but the great balance of evidence 

 is in its favour, and its employment is almost a matter of course with 

 every veterinary obstetrist. It is generally applied in the form of 

 extract around the cen'ix, about a drachm or so being required for one 

 application — it is rare that a second application is needed. Time should 

 be allowed for its action. For the Bitch one-fourth or one-fifth of the 

 dose is sufficient. 



If cocaine were not so expensive it would also prove most useful in 

 such cases, especially in the smaller animals, as a solution of it acts so 

 promptly and eifectively. 



Sometimes it is attempted to dilate the os uteri by manipulation — 

 the fingers and iiand being the dilators ; but this means should not be 

 adopted until milder measures have failed, and until time and patience 

 have been exhausted over them. The hand and fingers well oiled, or 

 smeared with extract of belladonna, should be introduced in the form 

 of a cone, towards the os ; if they cannot be passed into the canal in 

 this shape, then the insertion of one finger may be attempted, followed 

 by a second, and so on until the band has been pushed through. 



Very frequently this cannot be accomplished at the first trial, nor yet 

 at the second ; but with patience and judgment it rarely fails, and if 

 conducted with the care and gentleness which all operations of this 

 kind should receive, such manipulation may be attempted without the 

 least danger at inter\'als of a few hours, until crowned with success. 

 The condition of the os should be ascertained, after a certain period 

 has elapsed since the last attempt, every precaution being adopted to 

 prevent injury ; and an entrance to it ought only to be effected when 

 the resistance has greatly diminished, and can easily be overcome. 



Mechanical dilatation of the os by means of the sponge tent has been 

 much, and most successfully, employed in human obsteti-ics for a long 

 time, and the method has recently been greatly simplified and perfected 

 by Sims, Joulin and others. It is perfectly applicable to animals. The 

 tent can perhaps be purchased at any druggist's, but if not it is easily 



