Torsion of the Uterus 693 



It would appear, therefore, that under this head veterinary ob- 

 stetrists include a group of diverse conditions. 



The handling of such cases must be based upon the actual 

 character of the obstacle to birth. When practicable, the fetus 

 should be removed by traction. 



c. TORSION OF THE UTERUS. 



Torsion of the gravid uterus, or revolving of the organ 

 upon its long axis, is an accident which belongs to quad- 

 rupedal animals. The displacement occurs most frequently 

 in uniparous animals, and especially in ruminantsi It is 

 most frequently diagnosed in the cow. It is common in the 

 ewe. In the cow it occurs chiefly in dairying districts where 

 the animals are kept confined in stanchions and where, as a con- 

 sequence, they are subjected to certain violent movements, 

 especially of slipping in getting up on a wet floor or in making a 

 misstep into a deep gutter. It is comparatively rare in the 

 mare, and even more so in the small, multiparous domestic 

 animals. 



Historically, the accident has been recognized for more than a 

 century, and has been well known and studied in every country 

 where much attention is paid to dairying and the breeding of 

 cattle. 



The anatomical relations of the uterus largely determine the 

 probability of torsion. The ovaries are formed, page 17, near 

 the Wolffian bodies, and the broad ligaments extend from these 

 backward to, and including, the vagina, maintaining the geni- 

 tal canal in its position in the abdominal cavity. In all animals 

 the ovaries drop more or less into the abdominal cavity, and tend 

 to move backward toward the inguinal ring. As the ovaries 

 retreat backward, the broad ligaments tend to follow them, so 

 that their most anterior attachments pass back toward the 

 inguinal ring. Consequently, the fixation of the uterus becomes 

 more and more posterior as the ovary moves backward. 



This migration of the ovary, and the consequent moving back- 

 ward of the broad ligament, is most marked in the ruminant, and 

 consequently when the animal becomes pregnant the gravid 

 uterus soon projects far anterior to its ligamentous attachments 

 to the abdominal walls. There is little to prevent the projecting 



