American Veterinary Review, 
MARCH, 1880. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
RUPTURE OF THE PERINEUM IN PARTURITION. 
In his most complete work on obstetrics, Fleming remarks that 
not a single case of rupture of the perinaeum has been recorded 
in the English language. According to the testimony of several 
reliable witnesses, the accident is not of infrequent occurrence in 
the breeding districts of the west, where such mares receive the 
soubriquet of “ gil-flirted.” I report for the Review, herewith, 
the only case I have ever seen in the mare, trusting it will stimu¬ 
late others, who have had greater obstetrical experience than my¬ 
self, to report any cases which they may have had. 
In May, 1873, I was called to attend a large bay farm-mare 
in parturition with her third foal, the messenger reporting that 
the head and neck of the foetus were protruding from the anus, 
while the fore-legs were hanging from the vulva. Owing to the 
violent efforts of the animal to rid herself of the obstruction, one 
of the attendants became alarmed for the safety of the foetus, 
and cut the perinseum across with his pocket-knife, allowing the 
foal to be delivered at once. On my arrival, I found the foal at 
