INFLAMMATION OF THE UTERUS. 189 



reddened and swollen, and there is a copious discharge from the 

 vulva, which is purulent, sometimes bloody or slightly putrid, 

 and is much increased in quantity after the passage of 

 feces or urine; but the animal licks it off so soon that fig. 55. 

 the observer must look immediately after each evacua- 

 tion or it may escape his notice. Some bitches carry 

 their tails in a curved position when suffering from 

 this condition ; some animals have complete loss of 

 appetite, and in some cases slight fever is present. 



The therapeutics consist in tepid injections of non- 

 poisonous antiseptic fluids, such as permanganate of 

 potassium (1 per cent solution), boric acid (2 per cent.), 

 and creolin (1 per cent.). In using these solutions it 

 is best to use the irrigator with the two catheters that 

 have been already mentioned (Fig 55). In the chronic 

 form (dysmenorrhcea) we should use injections of ergot. 



R.— Ext. ergotse 2.0 



Spts. vini dil. I _ _ _ . aa 6.0 

 Glycerinum j 



M. S. — Inject a small portion several times daily. Double oathe- 



Septio Metritis {^Puerperal Fever). Septic in- out the uterus. 

 flammation of the uterus should be considered a disease 

 of wouod-infection in which we find intense irritation of the uterus 

 and vagina, accompanied by violent constitutional disturbances. 

 During and after labor septic materials find their way into the 

 uterus, and, owing to the condition of the uterus at that time when 

 it is practically in the same condition as an open wound, the septic 

 materials are taken up very quickly and every condition is favora- 

 ble for their propagation. Collections of blood, decidual tissue, etc., 

 exposed to the air decay very quickly, and where there is any erosion 

 of the vagina or the cervix, or even the uterus at the points of pla- 

 cental attachment, the poison is taken up. The eroded portion that 

 has taken up any of the septic material soon presents an ulcerated 

 surface which is covered by a necrotic or diphtheritic coating, and 

 in some cases the vagina becomes intensely swollen, dark brown 

 or reddish -brown in color, and covered with spots of diphtheritic 

 ulcerations. 



The inflammatory process rapidly extends from the mucous 

 membrane into the deeper tissues, affecting the muscular and the 



