298 Veterinary Medicine. 



are laid prematurely without albumen or without shell, yet with 

 much effort and suffering. Or the bowels become irritable and 

 a profuse diarrhoea sets in, hastening the exhaustion of the 

 patient. 



Treatment should be applied early. A cooling diet of vege- 

 tables or slops, the careful removal of all irritating contents 

 from the oviduct, and its frequent injection with bland oils medi- 

 cated with mild anti-septics (boric or salicylic acid, or potassium 

 permanganate) will usually serve a good purpose. 



HYDROMETRA AND PYOMETRA. 



Cause : chronic metritis, tumors, microbian infection. Symptoms : ill- 

 health, low condition, vulvar swelling or discharge, swelling and fluctuation 

 of womb. Rectal exploration. Treatment : evacuate liquid, disinfect 

 womb and passages, creolin, iodine. 



As a rule these conditions belong to obstetrics and would not 

 come under the scope of this volume, but when in chronic cases, 

 with closure of the neck of the womb, the liquids accumulate and 

 distend the uterus, they may deserve mention in a medical 

 wort. 



The cause is usually a chronic metritis, originating it may be at 

 the time of a now distant parturition, or associated with tumors 

 or microbian invasions of the woinb. In the deadly cases that 

 follow upon parturition and abortion streptococcus is usually 

 present, in the more chronic forms the staphylococcus or other 

 pus microbe. 



The symptoms are those of general ill-health, low condition, 

 pallor of the visible mucosae, sometimes swelling of the vulva 

 with discharge, serous or purulent, lessened milk yield, enlarge- 

 ment of the abdomen with fluctuation felt in the right flank, or 

 still better with the hand in the rectum. Rectal exploration will 

 further detect the distended uterus connected with the vagina 

 behind and dividing in front into two horns. 



Treatment consists in the evacuation of the liquid through a 

 catheter or cannula introduced through the os, or through the 

 vaginal wall immediately above, followed by a systematic disin- 



