Sometimes the womb is so much inclined in a particular direction that its mouth does not present to the middle of the passage. Thus it may lean over so much to the right side that the mouth may open against the left wall of the Pelvis; or it may lean to the left side, or to the front. In all these cases the expulsion of the child may be totally prevented, because it is forced against the walls of the passage instead of down its axis. Obliquity is sometimes righted spontaneously, but more frequently it requires the interference of art. The mode of rendering assistance is to support the womb on the side to which it falls, particularly during the pains, so that its mouth may be directed towards the middle of the passage. PROLAPSUS UTERI. Falling of the womb may retard labor, but is not likely to make it more than usually difficult, nor dangerous. It is requisite, however to bear in mind that the head of the child may, by this displacement, be found in the vagina, and even at the vulva, before it has passed through the mouth of the womb, because the neck itself is already in the passage. The head may therefore be felt low down, and the accoucheur may think the labor will soon be completed, when in reality it has scarcely begun. In such cases it merely requires patience and _non-interference_. In my work on _the Diseases of Women_, will be found many curious cases of pregnancy and delivery, occurring during partial or complete prolapsus uteri; and also much information regarding obliquity, and other similar derangements. SMALLNESS OR DEFORMITY OF THE PELVIS. These constitute by far the most serious obstacles to delivery, and are most to be dreaded. In treating upon them it will be first necessary to explain the chief kinds of deformities, and the cause from which they arise, after which it can be shown how they interfere with the progress of labor, and how they can be best remedied. Deformities of the pelvis may either be congenital, or they may be produced by certain diseases in after life, and also by bad physical education. The principal causes however are two diseases, _Rachitis_, or _Rickets_, and _Malacosteon_, called also _Mollites Ossium_, or softening of the bones. Rachitis usually attacks children somewhere between nine months and two years of age, and produces a variety of well marked symptoms; such as large head and belly, protrusion of the breast-bone, flattening of the ribs, emaciation of the limbs, and various deformities of the bones. The patient may recover from the disease, but the deformity of the bones often remains, and therefore no female should become pregnant, who has had rickets, till the shape and dimensions of her pelvis are known, or it may cost her life.