and others record the
birth of children through perineal perforations.

Birth Through the Abdominal Wall.--Hollerius gives a very peculiar
instance in which the abdominal walls gave way from the pressure
exerted by the fetus, and the uterus ruptured, allowing the child to be
extracted by the hand from the umbilicus; the mother made a speedy
recovery. In such cases delivery is usually by means of operative
interference (which will be spoken of later), but rarely, as here,
spontaneously. Farquharson and Ill both mention rupture of the
abdominal parietes during labor.

There have been cases reported in which the recto-vaginal septum has
been ruptured, as well as the perineum and the sphincter ani, giving
all the appearance of a birth by the anus.

There is an account of a female who had a tumor projecting between the
vagina and rectum, which was incised through the intestine, and proved
to be a dead child. Saviard reported what he considered a rather unique
case, in which the uterus was ruptured by external violence, the fetus
being thrown forward into the abdomen and afterward extracted from an
umbilical abscess.

Birth of the Fetus Enclosed in the Membranes.--Harvey says that an
infant can rest in its membranes several hours after birth without loss
of life. Schurig eventrated a pregnant bitch and her puppies lived in
their membranes half an hour. Wrisberg cites three observations of
infants born closed in their membranes; one lived seven minutes; the
other two nine minutes; all breathed when the membranes were cut and
air admitted. Willoughby recorded the history of a case which attracted
much comment at the time. It was the birth of twins enclosed in their
secundines. The sac was opened and, together with the afterbirth, was
laid over some hot coals; there was, however, a happy issue, the
children recovering and living. Since Willoughby's time several cases
of similar interest have been noticed, one in a woman of forty, who had
been married sixteen years, and who had had several pregnancies in her
early married life and a recent abortion. Her last pregnancy lasted
about twenty-eight or twenty-nine weeks, and terminated, after a short
labor, by the expulsion of the ovum entire. The membranes had not been
ruptured, and still enclosed the fetus and the liquor amnii. On
breaking them, the fetus was seen floating on the waters, alive, and,
though very diminutive, was perfectly formed. It continued to live, and
a day a