THE GENERATIVE APPARATUS. 185 



immediate symptoms of parturition being imminent are 

 enlargement of the mammas (due to accumulation of milk), 

 fulness of the labia, a glutinous discharge from the vagina, 

 a desire for quietude and solitude, and for a comfortable 

 place to litter in. False pains sometimes occur some time 

 before true labour sets in, but -there is then no uterine 

 contraction appreciable simultaneous with the -forcible 

 contraction of the abdominal walls, and the os uteri has 

 not yet relaxed. The hygiene of pregnancy presents- no 

 special features, but we must bear in mind the liability to 

 nervous disorders at the time of parturition and lactation, 

 and fortify the system against them by simple wholesome 

 diet and full exercise. Shortly before parturition the' diet 

 should be laxative and a mild cathartie maybe given two 

 or three days before the birth is anticipated. 



Parturition is generally accomplished by the bitch 

 recumbent on her side. The process lasts some time in 

 most cases and is painful, as indicated by the cries of the 

 mother. Bach expulsion is succeeded by an interval of 

 comparative ease, during which the membranes are 

 removed from the last expelled foetus. Their intact con- 

 dition materially facilitates birth, but is not absolutely 

 essential. The straight and unossified condition of the 

 pelvic symphysis materially facilitates parturition in canine 

 patients ; the offspring are numerous as a rule; each is 

 born in an imperfect state of development, such as would 

 be considered premature in herbivora, and consequently 

 the skeletal structures of each are in a highly elastic and 

 yielding condition. Hence difficulty in parturition is not 

 very common in the bitch, and when it does occur is 

 generally the result of exhaustion from prolonged labour 

 pains. Malposition of the foetus seldom ca;uses trouble, the 

 transverse presentation being the only one which gives rise 

 to mechanical difficulties. In a small bitch which has been 

 "lined" by a large dog (or one which is capable of 

 begetting large progeny by the process of "throwing 

 back ") we sometimes find difficulty, and the impediment 

 is experienced in passing over the ischium rather than at 

 the brim of the pelvis. Fractures of the ossa innominate, 



