268 Diseases of Poultry 



b. Exhaustion (true physiological fatigue) of the muscu- 

 lar walls of the oviduct. This condition results after long 

 continued and unsuccessful attempts to expel the egg. It 

 leads to 



c. Atony and paralysis of the duct, in which the muscular 

 walls are incapable of making any effective contraction at 

 all. 



2. Complicated "egg bound" conditions in which the 

 fundamental source of the trouble is not simply mechanical, 

 and in which usually the portions of the oviduct anterior 

 to the uterus are involved. In this general category the 

 following sorts of cases are to be included. 



a. Atony and paralysis of the upper portions of the ovi- 

 duct. This condition may exist for a long time without 

 being recognized. 



b. Inflammation of the oviduct leading to the formation 

 of fibrous exudate which accimiulates in the duct, until it 

 may form a mass of relatively enormous size (usually with 

 one or more yolks as a nucleus) completely obstructing the 

 duct, and eventually leading either to gangrene or rupture 

 of the walls, or both. 



c. Volvolus, or twisting of the oviduct about its own 

 long axis, completely obliterating the cavity. 



d. Stenosis or stricture of the oviduct. This may result 

 from several causes. One frequent one is that in laying a 

 very large egg the oviduct wall becomes torn to greater or 

 less degree, and subsequently heals. The scar tissue con- 

 tracts the cavity and a stricture is thus caused. 



Treatment. — Whether treatment is or is not likely to be 

 effective depends upon which of the two main categories 

 above defined any given case belongs to. Simple obstruc- 

 tion of the oviduct may be successfully treated. In cases 

 of complicated obstruction treatment is not indicated, for 

 a variety of reasons. These conditions are in the first place 



