DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 221 



pain, causing moaning or grunting, and the hind limbs are moved 

 stiffly, extremely so if the general lining of the abdomen is involved. 

 In severe cases the cow lies down and can not be made to rise. There 

 is usually marked thirst, the bowels are costive, and dung is passed 

 with pain and effort. The hand inserted into the vagina perceives 

 the increased heat, and when the neck of the womb is touched the 

 cow winces with pain. Examination through the rectum detects 

 enlargement and tenderness of the womb. The discharge from the 

 vulva is at first watery, but becomes thick, yellow, and finally red or 

 brown, with a heavy or fetid odor. Some cases recover speedily and 

 may be almost well in a couple of days; a large proportion perish 

 within two days of the attack, and some merge into the chronic form, 

 terminating in leucorrhea. In the worst cases there is local septic 

 infection and ulceration, or even gangrene of the parts, or there is 

 general septicemia, or the inflammation involving the veins of the 

 womb causes coagulation of the blood contained in them, and the 

 washing out of the clots to the right hear* and lungs leads to blocking 

 of the vessels in the latter and complicating pneumonia. Inflamma- 

 tions of the womb and passages after calving are always liable to 

 these complications, and consequently to a fatal issue. Franck 

 records three instances of rapidly fatal metritis in cows, all of which 

 had been poisoned from an adjacent cow with retained and putrid 

 afterbirth. Others have had similar cases. 



Treatment. — Treatment in the slight cases of simple inflammation 

 does not differ much from that adopted for vaginitis, only care must 

 be taken that the astringent and antiseptic injections are made to 

 penetrate into the womb. After having washed out the womb a solu- 

 tion of chloride of lime or permanganate of potash (one-half ounce to 1 

 quart of water), with an ounce each of glycerin and laudanum to ren- 

 der it more soothing, will often answer every purpose. It is usually 

 desirable to open the bowels with 1£ pounds Glauber's salts and 1 

 ounce ginger in 4 quarts of warm water and to apply fomentations of 

 warm water or even mustard poultices or turpentine to the right flank. 



In the violent attacks with high temperature and much prostration, 

 besides the salts agents must be given to lower the temperature and 

 counteract septic poisoning. Salicylate of soda one-half ounce, or 

 quinia 2 drams, repeated every four hours, will help in both ways, or 

 ounce doses of hyposulphite of soda or dram doses of carbolic acid 

 may be given, at equal intervals until six doses have been taken. 

 Tincture of aconite has often been used in 20-drop doses every six 

 hours. If the temperature rises to 106° or 107° F., it must be met by 

 the direct application of cold or iced water to the surface. The animal 

 may be covered with wet sheets and cold water poured on these at 

 intervals until the temperature in the rectum is lowered to 102° F. 

 In summer the cow may be allowed to dry spontaneously, while in 

 winter it should be rubbed dry and blanketed. Even in the absence 



