CHAPTER IX 
BREEDING AND VETERINARY OBSTETRICS 
VETERINARY obstetrics deals with the care of domes- 
tic animals during pregnancy, the birth of their young, 
and the after-treatment. There is probably no phase 
of veterinary practice that is so little understood by 
stockmen generally, nor one in which a little knowledge 
and practice are productive of such good results. In 
eases of difficult labor, ignorance and bad practice are 
very likely to bring about injury to both dam and 
offspring. 
The generative organs of the female consist of the 
external part called the vulva; from this a tube lined with 
mucous membrane, called the vagina, leads into the in- 
terior of the body. At the farther end of the vagina 
there is a constriction, and in the center of this a small 
opening passes into the uterus, or womb. At the farther 
extremity of the womb two tubes, called fallopian tubes, 
branch off, one to the right and the other to the left. 
At the end of each fallopian tube is a small round body 
called the ovary, which contains the ova, or egg-cells. 
From time to time, after the animal is full grown, a 
mature egg-cell passes from the ovary into the fallopian 
tube; if not impregnated, by coming in contact with a 
male cell, it passes out throngh the uterus and vagina 
with the mucus that is secreted from their lining mem- 
(192) 
