Note on the Mechanism of the Separation of the Placenta during the Third Stage of Labour

The present note is really a corollary to my preceding communication, and is thrown out more as a hint and suggestion that may prove fertile afterwards. First, a statement as to our knowledge of the mechanism of this important part of labour. "What we know of it is chiefly negative. We only know that diminution of the placental site does not separate the placenta, a demonstration we owe to Dr Barbour, and that a retroplacental bloodclot may or may not be associated with it. If the delivery of the placenta depended on obstetricians knowing how it separated,