Abortion

Abstract

MISCARRIAGE, slinking, abortion, or slipping the calf, occurs to cows in apparent high health arid condition. It is usual to divide the period of gestation of forty-two weeks or two hundred and eighty days, into two parts; the first part, six months; second, three months. Tq all cases occurring during the first part the term abortion is applied, and after that premature labor. Causes.—These may be divided into external, internal, predisposing and exciting. The external causes are those due to atmospherical influ­ ences, bad sanitary conditions and to the various accidents in field, pasture, road or stable. The internal causes are dependent upon disease, malforma­ tion, or malposition of the young in utero. The predisposing causes may be previous abortion, heredi­ tary predisposition, uterine disease, either by extension or sympathy, disease conveyed from mother to foetus, pleuro­ pneumonia, great size of foetus, or more than one; extreme plethora or obesity of the mother, often become predisposing causes. Exciting causes, are sudden and extreme changes of temper­ ature, bad, or indigestible food, smut rye grass, diseased or mouldy corn, food too stimulating, excessive drinking of cold water, foul water, eating horse-tail grasses, sedges, hellebore, savin, rue, ergot of rye, the external or internal use of cantharides, turpentine, or drastic purgatives. Treatment.—Change of pasture and attention to sanitary reg­ ulations, enemas of warm water, laxative, e. g. R Epsom salts, 12 oz. Sulphur, 3 “ Ginger and Gentian, & S. 1 “