Cords, Bands and Halters 58 1 



should be drawn out through the vulva, the free end of the cord 

 passed through the loop and, by drawing upon it, the neck 

 secured in the running noose. In order to aid in passing the cord 

 around the neck in this way, various devices have been proposed 

 in the form of curved sounds or curved porte-cords, but they 

 have apparently acquired no permanent place in obstetric prac- 

 tice. In some instances they may prove quite useful, especially 

 if the head cannot be reached in such a way as to cord the lower 

 jaw or to engage the head with a hook in the orbit. In those 

 cases of extreme deviation, however, where the head is out of 

 reach, it is often desirable to not try to secure the head, but 

 rather to perform embryotomy and to decrease the size of the 

 fetus to such an extent that the deviation of the head may be 

 easily corrected or the fetus may be extracted without correcting 

 the deviation. 



One of the most useful places for the attachment of cords is 

 the inferior maxilla of the fetus. In the various deviations of 

 the head there are few methods which are more advantageous to 

 the practitioner than tractioti upon the lower jaw. When prop- 

 erly applied, it affords a very secure attachment, which permits 

 an almost unlimited amount of traction and in a very advanta- 

 geous direction. Some obstetrists have said that they could not 

 securely apply a cord to the lower jaw of the fetus, and especially 

 to that of the foal, because it very readily slips off and so does 

 not offer a secure hold. Our experience has been wholly differ- 

 ent, and we have constantly found that a cord can be very 

 securely fastened to this part, as shown in Fig. 108. We pro- 

 ceed as follows : First, with the ring-knife or other cutting in- 

 strument we make an incision 3 or 4 cm. long, between the rami 

 of the lower jaw, through the skin and superposed tissues, into 

 the oral cavity. Next, we pass the prepared noose of the cord over 

 the jaw and push it back beyond the incision with the loop rest- 

 ing in the mouth of the fetus. We then pass the free end of the 

 eord through the incision from the oral cavity outward, and draw 

 firmly upon the cord so as to tighten it, after which any amount 

 ■of traction desired may be employed without any danger of 

 slipping or of tearing out. By this method the two rami of the 

 jaw are held together, instead of being split apart as when a hook 

 is used. The objection may be raised that, in case of a living 

 fetus, mutilation is caused, but the wound is so insignificant in 



