General Infections of the Genitalia of Sheep and Goats 729 



gree. The genital infections of sheep, like those of other 

 mammals, behave as an endless chain. If a ram is over- 

 crowded and develops virulent infection, the harm does not 

 end vi^ith the abortions which may follow, the ewes which 

 may perish, or the slow development of the congenitally dis- 

 eased lambs. Such lambs may be perilously infected and, 

 upon reaching breeding age, serve as a new center for the 

 distribution of dangerous infection. 



Wherever it is economically practicable, it is better to 

 divide large flocks into small breeding units and assign to 

 each unit a breeding ram. By such means, if there be one 

 dangerous ram in the flock, he is identified and the infection 

 limited to his group of ewes. The division of the flock into 

 small breeding units may be for a brief time only, not ex- 

 ceeding four weeks, when the breeding should be terminated 

 and any ewe proving unfertile, assuming that the ram is 

 sound, should be discarded for breeding because she proba- 

 bly carries dangerous genital infections which it is well to 

 avoid. 



Death and maceration of the fetus, with prolapse of the 

 cervix, has been mentioned as occurring frequently in preg- 

 nant ewes. Usually the cases are disseminated and involve 

 only a small percentage of a flock, but individual cases often 

 develop annually. The pathology and bacteriology have not 

 been studied. The disease reveals itself first by the cervical 

 prolapse. As in the pregnant cow, so in the ewe, the cervix 

 is at first visible only when the patient is recumbent, in 

 which position the intra-abdominal tension is increased and 

 the inert genital organs mechanically forced out through the 

 vulva. The cervix becomes befouled with litter, desiccated 

 and irritated by the air, and inflammation and necrosis fol- 

 low. Cervical prolapse in the pregnant ewe does not al- 

 ways indicate fetal death and maceration. I handled one 

 case in which the ewe gave birth to vigorous twins, but that 

 is merely an exception. The cervicitis tends constantly to 

 grow worse. The cervix becomes swollen and indurated, 

 rendering it more and more difficult for the canal to be 

 dilated. 



