MECHAXICAL KXTHAi'T/oX OF THE FlETVS. 521 



are fixed on the part to be drawn iit, by first pullinj^, outside the vulva, 

 at the strhi^' which opens them, pushing,' the points a^^ainst or over the 

 part ; then, wlien this is betwemi the points, drawing at thi^- single cord 

 which closes them. This is acknowledged to be rather an instrument 

 for holding or fixing a certain region, and not for exercising tractile 

 force upon. Andre has often applied it successfully to the lower and 

 upper jaw, or to the ear, to bring the head into a good position ; to the 

 tcmlo Achillis in order to raise a hind-limb, which the hand alone could 

 not do ; to the fore-limbs, etc. 



With regard to the smaller animals, such as the Bitch, Sow, Sheep, 

 or Goat, in them we may often use the crotchet, small ordinary forceps, 

 or a small-sized model of the human forceps, with advantage. Various 

 patterns are in use, some of them fenestrated, others not ; some I'esemble 

 polypus-forceps, while otliers again are grooved, serrated, or toothed at 

 the ends of the blades. An essential which should not be lost sight of 

 in tlie forceps for such small animals as the Bitch or Cat, is that the 

 blades should be sufliciently long to seize not only the head, but much, 

 if not all of the body of the'fa;tus. If they are short in the blades, tliey 

 cannot be made to grasp sufficient of the fa'tus to remove it ; while the 

 joint being close to the vulva, or even within the vagina, is likely to 

 pinch the mucous membrane and cause the mother considerable pain. 



A useful instrument is a small and slightly modified form of the 

 human forceps for Bitches ; there is a spring between the branches of 

 the handle (Fig. 192). 



Weber has proposed a forceps for these small animals, and it has 

 been preferred by some authorities to the ordinary model. It is a 

 modification of one for a long time employed by Lel)lanc, which again 

 was fashioned after an instrument designed by Hunter. This is com- 

 posed of an iron stalk about ten inches in length, with a wooden handle 

 at one end, and two blades or bows at the other. On this stalk glides 

 a long enveloping metal tube, which, near the handle, has a wide ferule 

 or shield that allows it to be pushed along by the thumb of the hand 

 holding the instrument, and thus to bring the blades tog(rther. A nut 

 or female screw, running on a screwed portion of the stalk near the 

 handle, is intended to assist the pressure of the thumb, when this is in- 

 sufficient (Fig. 193). A finger of the other hand introduced into the 

 vagina, guides the instrument, and allows the part of the fcctus to be 

 seized to be reach(,'d by the ojjcrator, either with the view of extracting 

 the young creature or changing its position, according to indications. 



But, it must be observed, it is very difiicult to a})ply an instrument 

 of the shape of those employed in human practice ; it ought to be some- 

 thing like that described by Palfin. It is most diffiicult, Defays truly 

 says, to apply an instrument in shape like the accoucheur's ordinary 

 forceps, owing to the neck of the ftetus in Carnivora being so thick, and 

 the difference in volume between it and the head far less than in the 

 human foetus. So that, when the forceps is used, the bow of the blades 

 presses on the neck, slips under the throat, and the head escapes from 

 them. To remedy this imperfection, he has made forceps with the ex- 

 tremity of the blades notched or hollowed out (Fig. 194), while the end 

 of one of the branches has a piece of metal with a slot in it attached 

 by a hinge, and which is intended to hold the blades together when the 

 fa^tus is seized. 



Though this forceps has sometimes proved of service, yet cases occur 

 in which it is not so useful. 



