VAGINAL OVARIECTOMY IN THE MARE 



285 



body heat, is pumped or syringed gently into every recess 

 of the vaginal tube while one hand holding a pledget of cot- 

 ton washes it into every wrinkle. After this irrigation the 

 vagina is" filled with a warm solution of sodium bicarbonate, 

 one per cent until it is full, and until all of the wrinkles have 

 stretched out. Williams designated this manceuver "balloon- 

 ing the vagina." The vaginal wall anteriorly is a loose 

 membranous affair that is difficult to incise unless thus 

 stretched out. 



Third Step. — . Vaginotomy. — The incision is made by tak- 

 ing the scalpel in the right hand, passing it into the vagina 

 until the convex edge lies directly and firmly against the 

 vaginal wall just above the os uteri. The blade is then un- 



sheathed and thrust through the wall by a sudden forward 

 movement. Sheathed again, the knife is withdrawn and the 

 index finger passed into the incision to determine whether 

 the peritoneum has been incised with the rest of the wall. 

 If not, that is if the incision is not through into the periton- 

 eal cavity, the knife must again be unsheathed and the in- 

 cision completed. It is not prudent to rupture the periton- 

 eum with the finger. When the incision has been made the 

 knife is either dropped into the vagina or else handed to an 

 assistant, after which the perforation is enlarged by grad- 

 ually forcing the fingers consecutively into it until the whole 

 hand can be passed into the peritoneal cavity. 



, Fourth Step. — Search for the Ovaries. — The hand is 

 passed backward along the body of the uterus until the bi- 



