Relaxation and Management of the Perineum During Parturition.

Mr.President and Fellows of the Golden Belt District Medical Society of Kansas:—In performing the duty assigned me on this occasion, I have chosen to briefly consider therelaxation and management of the perineum durhig parhirition. Great rigidity of the tissues at the pelvic outlet, as a cause of lacerations and other serious complications in labor, is—as we are all fully aware—an old topic, and almost worn threadbare from discussionsproandconas how the better to overcome this abnormal condition; nevertheless the little triangular, pyramidal or wedge-like body, known as the perineum, often meets with a serious lesion, occurring as an accident to parturition. Believing that immunity from perineal injuries is due to a better knowledge of preventive means, we offer no apology in presenting the subject for your consideration. Prof. H. Lenox Hodge,¹ writing on this subject, says: "There are few complications which demand the more sedulous