43 
clean herself. Twenty-five per cent of all the cows which I 
had under treatment from May 1, 1906 up to May 1, 1907, 
suffered from a retained placenta, and not half of these cows 
had aborted. Eleven per cent were cases of dystocia, torsio 
uteri and septic metritis. If I add the 26% of sterile cows, 
which nearly all had metritis, then I had 63% of all the cows 
treated which suffered from metritis. 
The methodical examination of especially the big herds 
reveals the frequency and the importance of the more or less 
septic metritis. There are also sometimes diseases of the 
uterus after a normal delivery, and without a retentio secun- 
dinarum. These cases are as a rule not serious, and cause 
no disturbance in the general state of health; most of these 
cases, however, evade notice, since there is no abnormal dis- 
charge, and since what there is, ceases very soon after the 
parturition. There can be nevertheless an inflammation with 
enlargement of the uterus and with accumulation of exsudate. 
Ailments of this kind are later recognized by the abnormal 
estrum and the failure of conception. The exact diagnosis, 
of course, is made by an examination per rectum and per 
vaginam one month after the delivery. 
After a normal parturition the involution of the uterus is 
finished in three or four weeks, so that the first estrum can 
appear after that time. Very often, however, the heat comes 
later, which is caused by the incomplete involution of the 
uterus. This fact I found out through many examinations 
on representative animals. 
During the last year I systematically examined many 
cows per rectum and per vaginam in the time after the nor- 
mal parturition, to ascertain the course of the normal involu- 
tion and to make an early diagnosis of an eventual metritis. 
T found that there are many decisive differences. The 
shortest time in which a uterus became involved again 
was 12 days (one case) and only in few animals was the 
uterus normal again after 14-18 days. In the most cases it 
