116 Dr. Henri/ on Urinary Cahuli. [Feb.. 



that they have their origin from the inner surface of the bladder, 

 or from some of the urinary passages. They are of various 

 lengths, from one-tenth of an inch to an inch, and now come 

 away without giving him any uneasiness, though he has at times 

 suffered pain from the discharge of gravel of the uric acid kind. 

 On one occasion, the hairs which were voided had acquired, 

 before their discharge, a distinct coating of uric acid. The 

 symptoms having at one time excited suspicion of a stricture of 

 the urethra, a bougie was twice introduced without giving him 

 pain ; nor was its use followed by any increase of the number of 

 hairs that were voided, which might perhaps have been expected,, 

 if they had grown from the membrane of the urethra.* 



Of Morbid Concretions from other Parts of the Body. 



Pulmonary Concretions. — A pulmonary calculus, expectorated 

 several years ago by a patient of the late Dr. Ferriar, was 

 found to be chiefly composed of phosphate of lime, with a very 

 minute proportion of carbonate. Such also has been the com- 

 position of other specimens, given to me by Dr. Baron, of 

 Gloucester ; but a remarkably large one in the possession of 

 Mr. Ainsworth, which weighed, when entire, 51 gr. and exhi- 

 bited a complete cast of one of the bronchial cells, is principally 

 composed of the triple phosphate, with a very small relative 

 proportion of phosphate of lime, and a mere trace of carbonate. 

 Some concretions taken from the lungs by the late Mr. Allan 

 Burns, of Glasgow, have their earthy part composed of about 

 one-fifth of the triple phosphate, and four-fifths of phosphate of 

 lime, M'ith a minute proportion of the carbonate of that earth. 

 The subject from whom these concretions were taken after death, 

 I was informed by INlr. Burns, was a female about 15 years old, 

 ■who, though affected with violent cough, had never expectorated 

 any calculous matter. The spine in this case was so much 

 incurvated that, towards the close of life, the face approached 

 nearer to a horizontal than to a perpendicular line. The sub- 

 stance of the lungs when grasped was felt to be full of hard knots,, 

 from the size of a pea to that of a hazel nut ; and a concretion, 

 about the size of a large musket-ball, was found firmly impacted 

 in the left branch of the trachea, near to its origin. By a care- 



• When examined chemically these fibres do not appear to differ from common- 

 liair; but it has been (ibscrved by Dr. Wollaston, that ihey differ in some respect* 

 ill their mechanical texture, since tlipy have not that slight roughness in one direc- 

 tion of the surface on wliich the fc/ting property of common hair of every kind 

 depend?. This property of liair is most distinctly shown by pressing it betweeft 

 ihe fingers, and at the same lime sliding the fingers upon each other in the direction 

 of the hair, which will by this motion be seen to travel forward with its root fore- 

 most. Tlie finger which moves from the root slides freely along the hair, while 

 the other finger is prevented from sliding in (he opposite direction by a degree of 

 ronghness (which is thus sensible tlioiigh not in any way visible) but in its turn this 

 finger also will move from the root while Ihe hair now rests against Ihe opposite 

 •finier. It has also been remarked by Dr. Wollaston, that common hairs are not 

 f-cally tubular, as has often been asserted, but that these fibres really are so. 



