298 
W. L. WILLIAMS. 
TRANSVERSE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FETUS OF THE MARE. 
Paper read before the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association 
By W. L. Williams, V.S., Bloomington, Ills. 
Writers on veterinary obstetrics freely admit the occur¬ 
rence of a transverse presentation of the foetus of the mare at 
time of parturition, but deny, either directly or inferentially, 
that it is the result of transverse development, and ascribe 
such mal-presentation to accidental changes in the position of 
the foetus during labor. 
All experienced veterinarians will admit that this trans¬ 
verse presentation is by no means rare, and there seems to be 
no good reason for doubting, in general, the assumption that 
it is attained during labor, the form and position of the gene¬ 
rative organs of the mare, the position in which the foetus is 
generally found during pregnancy, and the form and size of 
the foetus itself, all tending to deny the probability of actual 
transverse foetal development. 
Recent clinical and post mortem observations have demon¬ 
strated, however, that transverse foetal development may and 
does occur, these cases being rendered interesting, not only 
from an anatomo-physiological standpoint, but from the well 
nigh insurmountable obstacles which such development offers 
to parturition. 
Three cases, occurring in my practice, and which I shall 
briefly describe, form the basis of my remarks. 
The first case, occurring in the spring of 1887, was that of 
an imported Percheron mare, property of J. S. Hanna, Bloom¬ 
ington, Ill. The animal was large, well developed, roomy, 
in good general health and condition, had never worked, had 
reared foals previously without difficulty in parturition, and 
had attained the usual period of gestation without offering 
anything unusual. The keeper summoned me to attend the 
mare, stating that she appeared uneasy and that he believed 
her to be in labor, and that the case was, in some way, un¬ 
usual. 
Upon examination no labor pains could be observed and 
