Occlusion of the Os Uteri 255 



which has now become .perpendicular to the long axis of the 

 finger or sound. In this way, we have known the operator to 

 force his finger through the walls of the cervix into the 

 peritoneal cavity while attempting to "open" a cervical canal 

 which was not "closed", but perfectly normal. 



The diagnosis of occlusion of the cervical canal, as already 

 suggested, is all too frequently mj^thical and based upon un- 

 scientific grounds. The occurrence of the condition is freely 

 admitted and verified by clinical and post mortem examinations, 

 but the frequency of pathologic occlusion, of a degree to actually 

 constitute a fertility destroying closure, is a debatable question 

 of great significance. 



When is the os uteri closed to a degree to interfere with or 

 prevent fecundation ? Few will answer it alike. If we knew 

 better the exact relation of the organs during copulation, the 

 answer might be more specific. 



Some claim that, during copulation, the glans penis enters the 

 OS uteri. As proof, they cite uterine laceration or perforation 

 alleged to have resulted from copulation, but can adduce from 

 the pages of veterinary literature but one or two cases. The 

 records are not wholly convincing in the one case we have found 

 recorded. Even if it occurred, as alleged, the fact of serious or 

 fatal injury would indicate rather that it was due to abnormal 

 copulation. 



It is fair to assume that manual exploration of the vagina in 

 estrual animals induces conditions somewhat analogous to those 

 obtaining during copulation and there is certainly little therein 

 to suggest that the penis enters the cervical canal. The os 

 uteri, while distinctly dilated as compared with the condition 

 observed during the interval between estrual periods, is never- 

 theless closed too firmly to make the entrance of the penis into 

 it comprehensible. It is to be further noted that, when the so- 

 called ' ' impregnators ' ' are used in the mare and inserted in the 

 OS uteri externum immediately prior to service, the apparatus is 

 not dislodged by copulation, as would inevitably occur should 

 the penis enter, or even pre.ss hard against, the os. 



In the cow, the canal is too small and tortuous to permit the 

 penis of the bull to enter it, especially with the sudden and 

 violent thrust made by that animal. The same holds true for 

 other ruminants. 



