138 BOVINE OBSTETRICS 



succussion as practiced in examination for pregnancy, is 

 almost always negative. Occasionally we succeed in hearing 

 a flushing sound on succussion, but this symptom is also 

 observed in ascites. Remembering the lessened resistance of 

 the greatly distended abdominal walls, succussion must be 

 executed cautiously. Kectal examination detects a constricted 

 state of the rectum ; that is, the hand is advanced with more 

 difficulty than in the normal condition. The enormously 

 distended uterus may be palpated on the right when the arm 

 is introduced above the elbow. It appears to occupy the 

 whole abdominal cavity. The uterus feels like a tense, elastic 

 organ of enormous dimensions. Occasionally the calf is 

 detected. On exploring the vagina, the os uteri is either 

 closed or permits the entrance of one or two fingers. The 

 vaginal wall right above the os uteri projects into the lumen of 

 the vagina, feeling like a distended bladder lying just above 

 the vaginal portion of the uterus (Hess). The increased pres- 

 sure in the abdominal cavity pushes the superior vaginal wall 

 backward. 



The differential diagnosis is especially directed to distin- 

 guish between ascites and hydrallantois. The course, the 

 external examination and the rectal exploration are decisive. 



Course and Prognosis. — Hydrallantois always endangers the 

 life of the cow. The further pregnancy has advanced, and the 

 better the general health of the animal, the greater the hope 

 for a favorable termination. There are cases where distention 

 of the belly as the result of hydrallantois only manifests itself 

 toward the end of the seventh month or beginning of the eighth 

 month. Such animals sometimes stand it up to the normal 

 time, evacuating a great deal of foetal water at parturition. The 

 process of involution of the uterus, while abnormal, usually 

 does not lead to fatal terminations. 



In other cases, especially where the accumulation of fluid 

 increases rapidly, the symptoms are already noticeable in the 

 seventh month. When the cow gets daily bigger, as it is 

 termed, a fatal termination may be expected, unless proper 

 assistance is rendered. In these animals the dimensions of the 



