The Uterine Seal 



117 



3. The Uterine Seal 



If the vagina and cervix are healthy, the cervical canal is 

 well sealed at from thirty to forty day s after conception and 

 it may be felt clearly upon palpatioiTper vaginam. In order 

 to recognize this, the finger tip must be pressed carefully 

 and gently against the external os uteri and then cautiously 

 withdrawn ; if the seal is present, it is readily revealed by 

 its adhesiveness. In the earlier stages the seal is very small, 

 only one-eighth to one-fourth inch across, and does not pro- 



FiG. 44 — The uterine Seal in Early Pregnancy in Heifer. 

 F, Embryo ^ inch long in the embryonic sac ; S, uterine seal in cross sec- 

 tion ; O, ovary with corpus lutem of pregnancy ; A, uteriue seal 

 protruding from the vaginal end of the cervix. 



ject into the vagina. It is distinct, however, and adheres 

 clearly to the finger tips. It continues to grow and soon 

 bulges out into the vagina. The uterine seal involves the 

 cervical mucosa only. As stated earlier, however, the annu- 

 lar folds of the cervical mucosa push out into the vagina in 

 the cow which has calved and especially when she has suf- 

 fered from cervicitis. The protruding portions of the cervical 



