276 VETERINARY STATE BOARD 



sacrum. The fore limbs are flexed in such a manner that the knees 

 are against the middle of the head and the feet, the umbilicus. The 

 hind limbs are flexed under the body and the pelvic portion of the 

 foetus is in the bottom of the uterus, near the stomach. 



Trace the growth of the urinary organs. 



The kidneys arise from the Wolffian bodies. These are glandular 

 bodies which appear very early in embryonic life, one on each side 

 of the vertebras and extend from the heart to the pelvis. Bach 

 empties through a duct into the cloaca. These bodies are perhaps 

 more concerned in the development of the sexual organs than the 

 urinary. At any rate, early in embryonic life there appears near 

 the beginning of each Wolffian duct, an outgrovs^th, or cul-de-sac, 

 which forms the pelvis of the kidney. From the walls of these sacs, 

 a number of branching tubules arise to become the urinary tubules 

 and thus complete the kidney. The posterior part of these sacs 

 become the ureters which empty into the cloaca. The bladder is 

 derived from a dilatation of the abdominal portion of the allantois. 

 Posteriorly the allantois is constricted to form the urethra. The 

 extrapelvic portion of the latter is formed by the closing of the 

 genital furrow of the penis. 



Abortion 



What is meant (a) by abortion, (b) by premature birth? 



(a) The expulsion of a foetus from the uterus before it is suffi- 

 ciently developed to live. 



(b) The expulsion of a foetus from the uterus before the proper 

 time but in a viable condition. 



Give the symptoms of abortion. 



In many cases there are no premonitory symptoms and often the 

 first evidence is the presence of the foetus and its membranes. In 

 other cases, warning is given by the swollen vulva and its muco- 

 purulent discharge together with enlargement of the mammae. Fre- 

 quently, there is a secretion of milk for days and even weeks before 

 abortion occurs. The act of abortion is brief and is accompanied 

 by labor pains as in normal birth. For several days following, a 

 mucous discharge, tinged with blood and often containing particles 

 of pus and after-birth, is observed. Unless complications ensue, 

 the mother seems to be but little inconvenienced. 



Mention some of the causes of non-contagious abortion. 



Mechanical injuries, severe hemorrhage, castration, drugs, cer- 



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