Gynaecology and Obstetrics Section

CLINICAL SIGNS AND DIAGNOSIS 

• Initially, it is important to differentiate imperfect cervical dilation (ICD) from early stages of physiologically normal parturition. This may be particularly difficult in the absence of accurate breeding records, when the animals are not inspected at appropriate intervals or the signs of approaching parturition are not correctly interpreted.
• A diagnosis of dystocia is obviously correct when ICD is associated with ruptured membranes and the presence of a dead fetus with same degree of decomposition or sometime by presence of a putrid serosaguineous uterine discharge.
• Vaginal examination reveals protruding fetal membranes, a dead, usually emphysematous fetus, ruptured membranes, loss of fluids and dry birth canal. This condition of incomplete cervical dilation should be differentiated from  early stages of I stage of labour.
• In those cases where the foetus is live the membranes have not ruptured, it is likely that expulsion stage has not yet commenced and a reexamination after a period of time is done to see the progress of cervical dilation.