THE FEMALE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 463 



as a result of inflammation. In the virgin animal it gives 

 rise to uterine dropsy from retention of fluid ; in the 

 pregnant cow there is generally a small opening through 

 which impregnation has taken place. This must be 

 treated by incision and dilatation. 



Persistent Hymen is sometimes a cause of impeded 

 parturition in the cow. It is found to be a fibrous band 

 extending across the vulvo-vaginal passage^ just above the 

 meatus urinarius. This must be divided, and then no 

 further difficulty in expulsion will be experienced. 



Torsion or the Neck op the Womb, or of the anterior 

 part of the vagina, is rather common in the cow, pro- 

 bably on account of the special position of the cornua, 

 which tend to *^ heel over '^ where the extra weight of a 

 foetus is in one of them. This constitutes the predispos- 

 ing cause, but blows, falls, and injuries of other kinds, 

 are the most frequent exciting influences. The twisting 

 may be complete, incomplete, or double. 



Symptoms. — Labour-pains in due course, but not lead- 

 ing to protrusion of the amnion; violent abdominal 

 spasms; extreme indications of abdominal pain. The 

 hand introduced into the vagina meets an impediment, 

 and recognises the twist in the spiral arrangement of the 

 walls at ^ the anterior part. If these conditions be not 

 relieved remission of the labour-pains occurs, and death 

 ultimately results from asthenia. The direction of torsion 

 may be determined by the way in which the back of 

 the hand introduced into the twist inclines ; when to the 

 left, it is a case of left torsion and vice versa. 



Prognosis in such cases is unfavorable, but not abso- 

 lutely hopeless. They generally necessitate some severe 

 operation. Rolling the cow in a direction opposite to 

 that of the twist, the uterus with the foetus in it being 

 as much as possible retained in position by means of the 

 hand introduced through the os has been tried. Sometimes 

 the strain on the hand is found to increase, then the body 

 must be turned in the opposite direction. When relief has 

 taken place, there is generally an escape of liquor amnii. 

 Failing this means the Caesarian operation muvst be per. 



