Retained Placenta in the Cow 80 1 



longer than the reach of a man's arm. The operator may bring 

 these cotyledons somewhat nearer to him by having assistants 

 lift upon the floor of the abdomen with a blanket or board, or in 

 some cases, by gradually pulling backward on the curved horn, 

 and thus drawing it toward the pelvis. If the uterine walls are 

 not paretic, one may also cause a decrease in the size of the organ 

 by filling the uterus with warm water and causing it to contract 

 and expel the liquid. This causes a diminution in the size of 

 the organ, and brings the most distant cotyledons more nearly 

 within reach. 



Before beginning the operation, the veterinarian should wash 

 and disinfect the vulva and tail carefully, and should irrigate the 

 vagina. The operator should take precautions against infection 

 of his arms and hands. For this purpose, we recommend the 

 repeated immersion of the arms and hands in a reliable antiseptic 

 fluid, and would especially recommend lysol, because of its unc- 

 tuous character. Some, like Pomayer, condemn antiseptics for 

 this purpose, and recommend oils or fats instead, but our expe- 

 rience has been that oils and fats are almost instantly dissolved 

 by the fluids present and washed away. 



We also practice and recommend the irrigation of the uterine 

 cavity prior to the beginning of the removal of the afterbirth. 

 We would not use, for this purpose, a powerful disinfectant, 

 which would tend to cause abnormal expulsive efforts, but would 

 use instead soft warm water, with a small amount of disinfectant, 

 like ^% carbolic acid, which, we find, tends to soothe rather 

 than irritate the diseased uterus. If the uterus is too feeble to 

 cause the expulsion of this liquid, and it is not accomplished by 

 the abdominal walls, it should be siphoned out. 



For making the injections we prefer to use a rubber tube,, 

 especially the pure gum horse stomach tube, which, to our mind, 

 makes an ideal apparatus for the irrigation of the uterine cavity. 

 To the distal end of this, we may attach either an aseptible enema 

 pump or a funnel. The funnel is cheaper, lighter to carry, and 

 is highly efficient. 



If the operation of the manual removal cannot be carried to 

 completion, or cannot be performed without injury to the cotyle- 

 dons or causing hemorrhage, it should not, for the time being, 

 be persisted in. 

 51 



