t its lining membrane or
even its entire thickness is easily torn; the fetal membranes have lost
their natural, unctuous and slippery character, and cling firmly to the dry
walls of the womb, to the dry skin of the calf, or to the hands of the
operator; the dead and putrefying calf may be so bloated with gases that
the womb has been overdistended by its presence, and the two adhere so
closely that the motion of the one on the other is practically impossible.
In other cases reckless attempts to cut the calf in pieces have left raw
surfaces with projecting bones which dangerously scratch and tear the womb
and passages.

In many cases the extreme resort must be had of cutting the fetus to pieces
(embryotomy), or the still more redoubtable one of Caesarean section
(extraction through the flank).

DISSECTION OF THE UNBORN CALF (EMBRYOTOMY).

In some cases the dissection of the calf is the only feasible means of
delivering it through the natural passages; and while it is especially
applicable to the dead calf, it is also on occasion called for in the case
of the living. As a rule, the living calf should be preserved, if possible,
but if this threatens to entail the death of the cow it is only in the case
of offspring of rare value that its preservation is to be preferred. To
those acquainted with the toil, fatigue, and discomfort of embryotomy, no
discussion is necessary so long as there is a prospect of success from the
simple and generally easier method of rectifying the faulty position of the
calf. When the correction of the position is manifestly impossible,
however, when distortions and monstrosities of the fetus successfully
obstruct delivery, when the pelvic passages are seriously contracted by
fractures and bony growths, when the passages are virtually almost closed
by swelling, or when the calf is dead and excessively swollen, no other
resort may be available. In many cases of distortion and displacement the
dismemberment of the entire calf is unnecessary, the removal of the
offending member being all that is required. It will be convenient,
therefore, to describe the various suboperations one by one and in the
order in which they are usually demanded.

_Amputation of the fore limb._--In cutting off a fore limb it is the one
presenting that should be selected, since it is much more easily operated
on, and its complete removal from the side of the chest affords so much
more space for manipulation that it often ma