QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 293 



Give causes, symptoms and treatment of puerperal laminitis of the 

 mare. 



Causes : Occurs in connection with endometritis due to retention 

 of a part of the placenta. Toxins, formed as a result of the bac- 

 terial decomposition, are absorbed and laminitis is produced through 

 metastasis. 



Symptoms: Same as acute laminitis from other causes, and, in 

 addition, the symptoms of endometritis are observed. (See acute 

 laminitis, p. 255, and acute endometritis, p. 288.) 



Treatment: Remove all placental fragments from the uterine 

 cavity. Irrigate the cavity with mild, antiseptic solutions such as 

 lysol, carbolic acid, and potassium permanganate. Powdered iodo- 

 form is useful. (See treatment of acute endometritis, p. 288.) 



Name some of the principal causes of sterility in (a) the male, (b) 

 the female. 



(a) Cryptorchidism, idleness and overfeeding, masturbation, 

 orchitis and epididymitis, hydrocele, and excessive sexual use. 



(b) Cystic ovaries, emaciation, overwork, metritis, occlusion 

 of the OS uteri, and senile atrophy of the sexual organs. 



What is sterility? Name some causes of sterility and give the treat- 

 ment. 



Sterility is the inability to reproduce young. 



Causes: In the male, sterility may be due to cryptorchidism, 

 previous attack of orchitis or epididymitis. No treatment will over- 

 come sterility due to these causes. Idleness and overfeeding often 

 lead to impoteney. The treatment for these conditions is sug- 

 gested by the cause. Onanism may cause sterility. This vice may 

 be corrected by proper feeding and exercise. A shield, so adjusted 

 over the sheath as to cause pain when the penis is protruded, will 

 prohibit erection and thus prevent masturbation. 



In the female, sterility is commonly caused by cystic degener- 

 ation of the ovaries. These cysts are sometimes crushed by manual 

 pressure, either per rectum or per vaginam, but there is a tendency 

 to recurrence which leads to a fibrous degeneration. Metritis is an 

 etiological factor. Acute metritis usually responds to local treat- 

 ment (antiseptic irrigation with potassium permanganate, 1-1000), 

 but chronic metritis, pyometra, requires long-continued treatment. 

 The OS uteri must be dilated and the uterine cavity irrigated daily 

 with proper antiseptic solutions. The introduction of iodoform 

 powder in a gelatine capsule is useful. Occlusion of the os uteri is 

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