SECTION III 

 THE URO-GENITAL SYSTEM 



SWINE are prone to various disease conditions of 

 the organs constituting the uro-genital system. 

 This may be due to the nature of their food stuff, 

 which is often fermented or putrid. 



KIDNEYS 



Kidney diseases are especially common in swine. 

 Frequently the pathologic condition of the kidney is not 

 of sufficient intensity to produce recognizable symptoms, 

 but a diseased condition is easily detected by autopsy or 

 on inspection of the carcasses of dressed hogs. 



Malformations 



There may be a total absence of one or the other 

 kidney. A horseshoe-shaped kidney is also occasionally 

 observed. Floating kidney has been reported, but from 

 the number of recorded cases the condition is relatively 

 rare. 



Hydronephrosis 



Hydronephrosis, or cystic kidney, is of frequent 

 occurrence in swine. It is very commonly encountered 

 by the food inspector. Tucks reported 0.67 per cent of 

 cystic kidneys in over six thousand hogs examined, and 

 the writer found this condition in the kidneys of twenty- 

 nine swine in three thousand examined. The condition 

 may affect one or both kidneys. 



Etiology. Obstructed outflow of urine is the primary 

 cause of cyst formation in the kidney. The anatomical 

 arrangement of the openings of the ureters into the 

 bladder predisposes to their obstruction and therefore to 

 the accumulation of urine in the kidney pelvis. Renal 

 and pelvic calculi and inflammatory products occasion 



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