646 THE PHYSIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 



method of inducing sterility, in cases in which it is desirable to effect 

 this result.^ 



The various causes of sterility in women are discussed at consider- 

 able length by Kelly ,^ as well as by other writers ^ on gynsecology. 

 Kelly mentions the following conditions as likely to be found 

 associated with sterility: Gonorrhoeal infection of Skene's or 

 Bartholin's gland, stricture of the vagina or cervix, the presence of 

 a uterine polyp, a uterine fibroid tumour, a parovarian cyst, or a 

 nodular salpingitis (from gonorrhoea or tuberculosis), atresia of the 

 uterine tube (from inflammation), and the existence of ovarian 

 adhesions. These, and other causes of sterility, and the methods of 

 treatment to be adopted, are fully dealt with by Kelly. 



Sterility in animals, as in man, is brought about by a variety of 

 causes,* some of which are incurable, but others, such as constriction 

 of the OS uteri, are capable of treatment. In the case of cattle great 

 difficulty is often experienced in getting the cows to breed after 

 attacks of contagious abortion, and this is said to be due to an acid 

 condition of the vaginal mucous membrane. In order to remedy 

 this, injections of dilute solutions of bicarbonate of soda are employed 

 and are found to be effective. Others recommend that the uterus 

 should be injected with solutions of perchloride of mercury.' 



Sterility in mares and cows and other animals is often due to 

 structural or functional defects in the vagina, os uteri, or cervix. 

 These may sometimes be overcome by resorting to artificial insemina- 

 tion, the methods of which are described below.'' 



Furthermore, sterility among cows may be contagious owing to 

 the disease known as infectious granular vaginitis, which is primarily 

 an acute inflammation of the vulva and vagina. It is commonly 

 communicated by a contaminated bull in which the penis and sheath 

 are affected. Similarly a bull may become diseased by serving an 

 infected cow, and in this way vaginitis may spread through an entire 



^ Gordon, loo. cit. It has been shown also that the Rontgen rays may 

 induce degeneration of the follicles, corpora lutea, and interstitial cells in the 

 .ovaries and cause sterility in the female. See Bouin, Ancel, and Villemin 

 (C R. de la Soo. de Biol., vol. Ixi., 1906), Bergomifi and Trabondeau {C. R. de la 

 Soc. de Biol., vol. Ixii., 1907), and Specht {Arch. f. Oynak., vol. Ixxviii., 1907). 



2 Kelly, Medical Oynecology, London, 1908. 



^ See especially Duncan, Sterility in Women, London, 1884, and Muller, 

 loc. cit. Duncan states his opinion that probably ten per cent, of the marriages 

 in Great Britain are sterile. 



* Fleming, Text-book of Veterinary Obstetrics, London, 1878. 



' Wallace (E.), loc. cit. According to Knowles ("Sterility of Mares and 

 Cows," Amer. Veterinary Review), "sub-acute and chronic cervical hyperemia 

 are probably the most frequent and fruitful causes of temporary sterility, due 

 in an astonishingly large number of instances to continually recurring 

 abortions." 



^ Constriction of the os uteri in cows may often be remedied by the employ- 

 ment of a large probe followed by the finger, or better still by a specially 

 devised instrument known as a dilator. See Wallace (E.), loc. cit. 



