PARTURIENT PARESIS. 
121 
I was requested to take up the subject of parturient apoplexy, 
or, as it has been recently termed, parturient paresis, I have 
watched with greater interest than ever the various theories 
advanced as to the pathology and therapeutical treatment of this 
disease. 
Among the most popular of the day is that of J. Schmidt, 
but as we really do not know the true cause of this disease, the 
Schmidt theory would first appear as an empirical one. 
Though a little sceptical on this account, and of previous disap¬ 
pointments, I have concluded to give it a trial, and thus report 
the following cases : 
No i {Fatal ).—I was called to a five-year-old Durham cow, 
which was in fair flesh but a good milker. I found her in her 
stall at 4 P. M. She was lying on her sternum and not entirely 
inattentive to her surroundings, and would partake of food oc¬ 
casionally. I was informed that she gave birth to a calf the 
previous day. She would attempt to rise, but was unable. 
After a formal examination, I concluded that she had a mild at¬ 
tack of parturient paresis, and at once applied the potassium 
iodide infusion according to directions. Relieving her of the con¬ 
tents of the rectum, which was apparently normal, and placing 
her in a comfortable position, I left, giving orders to apply mas¬ 
sage. On my arrival the next morning I found she was much 
worse, her neck arched to one side, and she groaned terribly. 
I concluded to repeat the dose, wdiich I did, but not quite as 
strong a solution. I returned about six hours later, but saw no 
improvement. I then injected stimulants hypodermically, and 
asked the owner to report in the morning, when about eight 
o’clock he arrived with the hide, stating that she had died dur¬ 
ing the night. 
No. 2 (Recovered ).—This was an eight-year-old cow of na¬ 
tive stock. I was called at ten o’clock in the evening and found 
her in a basement barn with her head turned to one side and 
occasionally stretching out all four limbs and groaning. She 
was entirely unconscious ; temperature 98^ degrees. Though 
the weather was warm her skin was cold and shriveled, her 
