658 Veterinary Obstetrics 



Some operators advise the use of Persson's chain-saw, or the Pflanz ma- 

 chine, and amputate the posterior limbs as close to the hip-joint as possible. 

 The application of these instruments is not always easy. In either case a 

 cord or chain is passed around the limb as close as possible to the hip-joint, 

 and the limb is then severed in the manner described on pages 604 

 and 644, for the neck in the anterior presentation. 



Other operators would cut through the soft tissues with a scalpel and 

 attempt to disarticulate the femur from the pelvis. It must be extremely 

 difficult to disarticulate such a joint as this while the fetus is confined in the 

 uterus and the limb is virtually immovable. 



c. Evisceration. The evisceration of the fetus is frequently 

 desirable in obstetric practice, and has a variety of uses. It de- 

 creases the volume of the fetal trunk greatly, and permits its more 

 ready passage through the genital canal. For example, in the 

 anterior presentation, with lateral deviation of the head, it ren- 

 ders the fetal trunk flaccid, through the removal of the viscera 

 supporting the body walls, and permits the body remnant to be 

 bent or moved more readily for the correction of any deviations ; 

 it permits freedom of intra-fetal operations directed against other 

 parts, as for detruncation, page 648, or for the destruction of the 

 pelvic girdle, page 649. When a putrefying fetus becomes enor- 

 mously enlarged as a result of emphysema, evisceration removes 

 the gases collected in the viscera and body cavity, and permits 

 the escape, under pressure in the birth canal, of much of the gas 

 imprisoned within the body walls. 



Technic. Evisceration may be employed in either the anterior 

 or the posterior presentation, possibly in extremely rare cases in 

 transverse presentations. 



I . In the anterior presentation, unless the fetus is far advanced 

 through the vulva, evisceration is best performed by the removal 

 of one or more of the anterior ribs. The ribs are generally best 

 reached by the removal of the shoulder, as already described un- 

 der subcutaneous amputation of the anterior limbs, on page 645. 

 When the ribs have been laid bare in the manner described, 

 the operator can thrust the finger tips through the muscles in the 

 first intercostal space, and enlarge the opening thus made by tear- 

 ing through the muscles, upwards to the spinal column and down- 

 wards to the sternum ; then, grasping the rib near its middle, 

 he can fracture it by means of a sudden and vigorous pull. The 

 fractiired ends may then be grasped, and pulled, broken or 

 twisted off. 



