JjysTiiKLi IHE To TllK IIK.U) (ill I-'ollKLlMHS. 469 



L iimbo-supra-Co ty lo Ulean Pos it io7is . 



These positions — ri-^ht and left — are so like the corrcsponclinf:; posi- 

 tions in the anterior presentation, that the same remarks are applicable 

 to them. When simple, the hind-limbs — perfectly extended — first enter 

 the ^'enital canal. Such positions are very rare, and they do not offer 

 anything very noteworthy ; they are recognised in the same way as the 

 lumbo-pubic position, and the indications are the same. As a rule, 

 parturition is easier in these positions than in the lumbo-pubic, as only 

 one haunch is jammed against the brim of the pubis ; the other, being 

 in contact with the mother's sacrum, can enter the inlet without much 

 dirticulty. Judicious traction on the hind-pasterns is all that is needed 

 after the position has been rectified. 



The same observations apply to the lumho-ilial positions, which are 

 sometimes, though rarely, met with, and are a cause of dilViculty. 



SECTION II.— DYSTOKIA Dl'K TO THE HEAD OR FORE-LIMBS. 



Obstacles occasioned by the head and fore-limbs in this presentation 

 are less frequent, and not so serious as in the anterior presentation when 

 the hind-legs enter the genital canal. The head, when not hydro- 

 cephalic, is usually a cause of dilliculty when the neck is contracted and 

 brings it round to the side of the body. 



Head and Contracted Neck. 



The head itself does not so readily constitute an obstacle to birth, 

 though in the posterior presentation, being the last portion of the foetus 

 to enter the passage, its widest part may become faxed, either in the 

 pelvic inlet, or be retained by the cervix uteri when this has happened 

 to contract earlier than usual. This sometimes occurs with the Calf 

 and some of the smaller animals, but more especially Puppies. Indeed, 

 it is not very uncommon to witness Bitches with the hind part of the 

 body of a Puppy hanging from the vulva, the head being firmly wedged 

 in the passage. 



Very few instances of contracted neck are recorded, and they 

 occurred in the Mare, with other complications — such as a transverse 

 presentation, or a misdirection of the limbs. The head is bent round 

 towards the haunch, and rigidly maintained there by the crooked neck; 

 so that it is fixed against the border of the pelvis and cannot enter the 

 inlet, which is already occupied by the hind-quarters. In these cir- 

 cumstances birth is impossible. 



Care is necessary in arriving at a conclusion as to the nature of this 

 difficulty, but in repelling the hind-quarters from the inlet the head will 

 be found at one side ; nothing else abnormal being discovered, it may 

 be inferred that contracted neck is the cause of obstruction. 



Indications. — When the head alone is the obstacle, traction will re- 

 move it from the genital canal, the body of the fa-tus being at the same 

 time moved from side to side and up and down, so as to engage the 

 head in the passage by all its diameters. With small animals, such as 

 the Bitch, an emollient hip-bath is very useful; as are also injections of 

 warm water, oil, or glycerine into the vagina. 



When the neck is bent or contracted, the hind-Umbs should be 



