578 ACCIDENTS AFTER PARTUPJTIOX. 



sometimes a bright red, at other times somewhat violet or brown, 

 according as it is much injected with venous blood, irritated by the 

 external air, or by the litter, faeces, etc., with which it has come in 

 contact, and which may be adhering to it. With the Mare and Sow, 

 the uterine placental villi, and the innumerable depressions for the 

 reception of those of the foetal placenta, can be recognised ; in the 

 Cow, Sheep, and Goat, there are the deep-red, isolated, fungiform 

 eminences or cotyledons, and in the Bitch and Cat the wide dark- 

 brown zone. Sometimes with the Cow — more rarely with the Mare — 

 there are portions of chorion still attached to the placental surface of 

 the uterus ; and nearly always there are seen excoriations, more or 

 less extensive ecchymoses, and even gangrenous patches, on the mem- 

 brane — indications of the injury the organ has sustained, either during 

 or after parturition. This mucous surface is not so sensitive as might 

 be imagined ; it is more or less hot, and bleeds at the slightest touch, 

 though the haemorrhage may not be profuse ; at one side or the other 

 may be noticed a kind of depression — the opening to the cornu which 

 is not yet inverted. 



The longer the period which has elapsed since inversion occurred, 

 so the larger is the tumour. This increase is due to the violent ex- 

 pulsive efforts of the animal, as well as to the increase in weight of the 

 organ, in consequence of the congestion and infiltration which have 

 taken place in its textures ; constricted — even strangulated — at its 

 upper part, the circulation is maintained with great difficulty, and the 

 capillaries become gorged with blood. The walls lose their elasticity, 

 become thickened, dense, and darker tinted, until, from its increased 

 volume and altered aspect, the organ can scarcely be recognised ; while 

 its reposition is rendered extremely difficult, if not impossible. 



In consequence of the excessive hypersemia, ulceration and gangrene 

 usually supervene ; these are serious lesions, and may induce a fatal 

 termination. 



Such a grave accident as this is, in which there is extensive 

 displacement, with severe straining at the suspensory ligaments of 

 the uterus, and sometimes their rupture ; the irritation and perhaps 

 abrasions or wounds of the mucous membrane ; the tension on the 

 vagina, and the compression of various parts or organs — all this might 

 be expected to produce general disturbance. And such is the case. 

 From the very commencement, and even before anything is apparent 

 at the vulva, the animal is uneasy and anxious-looking ; it paws with 

 the fore or stamps with the hind feet ; switches the tail as if driving 

 off insects ; lies down and gets up frequently, finding no ease in either 

 attitude ; and strains more or less energeticallj^ at closer or wider 

 intervals, thus adding to the extruded mass. Not infrequently the 

 Mare kicks at the prolapsed uterus, or endeavours to attack it with its 

 teeth. 



At first there is no perceptible fever, and the animal, in the intervals 

 of straining, attentive to what is going on around, is solicitous about 

 its progeny, and may even eat. This state is not of long duration, 

 however ; for soon after inversion is complete, indications of fever 

 become manifest — quickened pulse and respiration, elevated tempera- 

 ture, and an expression of anxiety and pain. The straining is more 

 frequent and energetic, and soon exhausts the animal ; and the pros- 

 tration, together wnth the great weight of the pendent uterus, compels 

 it to assume and maintain the recumbent posture, in spite of attempts 



