712 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



field for the clinical study of the basic phenomena of ovula- 

 tion, menstruation and fertilization. Slaughtered cattle of 

 the abattoir furnish inexhaustible material for studying the 

 bacteriology and pathology of the genitalia of both non- 

 pregnant and pregnant animals. The fetal membranes af- 

 ford unsurpassed opportunity for the study of bacterial in- 

 vasion of the embryonic sac. Within the alimentary tract 

 of the fetus, as a constituent of the meconium, is stored up, 

 alive though frequently inert, bacteria the presence of which 

 affords a reliable history of the bacteriology of the pregnant 

 uterus and a suggestive prophecy of the pathologic changes 

 which may follow birth. The new-born dairy calf, fed as it 

 is by artificial means and upon the milk of dairy cows, of- 

 fers by far the greatest and most reliable source for an ex- 

 perimental study of the feeding of milk to the new-born. 

 The influence of pasteurization and sterilization of milk be- 

 fore feeding, and the relation of bacteria borne in milk and 

 of bacteria existing in the meconium of the new-born to each 

 other and to the health of the calf, are comprehensive prin- 

 ciples not restricted to the species of animal. The bacteria 

 commonly resident in the meconium of the new-born calf, 

 can probably be transferred to the digestive tube of children 

 and cause in them perilous disease. 



