OBSTETRIC REVIEW. 
591 
OBSTETRIC REVIEW, 
dropsy of the fcetal envelopes and ventral hernia 
IN A MARE. 
0 
By Mr. Dutrey. 
The history is this: grey mare, nine years of age, served 
by a jackass, is in her seventh month of pregancy for several 
days, she is subject to colics, regularly after her meals. When 
in pain, she lays on her back, with her legs close to the ab 
domen, then remains for an instant on the lateral decubitus 
and gets up apparently relieved. 
When visited by the author, she seems lively, eating well, 
with the respiration a little accelerated. What is peculiar 
about her is the enormous size of the abdomen. She looks 
like a cow suffering with tympanitis of the stomach; and 
yet the abdomen is hard, painless, and it requires a great deal 
of force to reduce that size. There is no tympanitis. Diagnosis 
is made of dropsy of the foetal envelopes, and the owner ad¬ 
vised to have abortion brought on. He declined it. 
A month later the* mare shows indications of delivery, 
which she does comparatively easily, having thrown out at 
the moment of the rupture of the envelopes an enormous 
quantity of liquid and with the envelopes themselves represent¬ 
ing a mass four or five times larger than usual. 
Delivered, however, the mare seems very sick, very much 
prostrated, no fever, with intense dyspnoea, as she was suffer¬ 
ing with extensive pulmonary emphysema. The respiration 
is jarring and double. Auscultation fails to demonstrate any¬ 
thing, even when listening towards the base of the right lung 
and trying to hear the borborygms which would suggest dia¬ 
phragmatic hernia. 
By degrees, however, the sub-abdominal oedema subsided 
and then a large ventral hernia is easily observable, which is 
of such a nature that no treatment can be applied.— Rev. Vet. 
FCETAL DYSTOKIA. (Derodymian Monster .) 
By Mr. E. Lavignac. 
An eight-years old cow, in labor, is laying on the right 
side, making violent expulsive efforts. The membranes are 
