g afternoon walk, their
subsequent retraction, and normal labor at term. Thurston tells of a
case in which Nature had apparently effected the separation of the
placenta without alarming hemorrhage, the ease being one of placenta
praevia, terminating favorably by natural processes. Playfair speaks of
the detachment of the uterine decidua without the interruption of
pregnancy.

Guerrant gives a unique example of normal birth at full term in which
the placenta was found in the vagina, but not a vestige of the
membranes was noticed. The patient had experienced nothing unusual
until within three months of expected confinement, since which time
there had been a daily loss of water from the uterus. She recovered
and was doing her work. There was no possibility that this was a case
of retained secundines.

Anomalies of the Umbilical Cord.--Absence of the membranes has its
counterpart in the deficiency of the umbilical cord, so frequently
noticed in old reports. The Ephemerides, Osiander, Stark's Archives,
Thiebault, van der Wiel, Chatton, and Schurig all speak of it, and it
has been noticed since. Danthez speaks of the development of a fetus in
spite of the absence of an umbilical cord. Stute reports an observation
of total absence of the umbilical cord, with placental insertion near
the cervix of the uterus.

There is mentioned a bifid funis. The Ephemerides and van der Wiel
speak of a duplex funis. Nolde reports a cord 38 inches long; and
Werner cites the instance of a funis 51 inches long. There are modern
instances in which the funis has been bifid or duplex, and there is
also a case reported in which there were two cords in a twin pregnancy,
each of them measuring five feet in length. The Lancet gives the
account of a most peculiar pregnancy consisting of a placenta alone,
the fetus wanting. What this "placenta" was will always be a matter of
conjecture.

Occasionally death of the fetus is caused by the formation of knots in
the cord, shutting off the fetal circulation; Gery, Grieve, Mastin,
Passot, Piogey, Woets, and others report instances of this nature.
Newman reports a curious case of twins, in which the cord of one child
was encircled by a knot on the cord of the other. Among others, Latimer
and Motte report instances of the accidental tying of the bowel with
the funis, causing an artificial anus.

The diverse causes of abortion are too numerous to attempt giving them
all, but some are so curious and anomalo