URETHROTOMY FOR REMOVAL OF CALCULUS IN A HORSE. 415 



that on the evening when attacked it had been played with by some 

 children and made to walk on its hind legs. 



The animal was very fat, and none of the internal organs could be 

 examined. It died on the day of entering hospital. 



On post-mortem examination the peritoneum of the posterior ab- 

 dominal region and pelvis was found to be inflamed ; the bladder was 

 an enormous size, full of turbid urine, and its walls were extremely 

 distended and inflamed. It contained no foreign body, but in the 

 urethra, not far from its origin, we found a rounded calculus the size of 

 a hemp seed, which had hermetically sealed the passage. 



URETHROTOMY FOR REMOVAL OF CALCULUS IX A HORSE. 



125. Six-year-old cart-horse, seen at midday, December 15th, 

 1894. 



History. — The horse was said to have had difficulty in staling for a 

 month or two previously ; at first the urine had escaped in a thin 

 stream, afterwards it dribbled away almost continuously, but on the 

 day in question the horse had not been seen to stale. It perspired 

 greatly at work, seemed easily distressed, and had once or twice 

 shown signs of colic when returning from work. 



State on Examination. — ^The horse was perspiring freely and blowing 

 a good deal. On coming to a stop it immediately stretched out as 

 though to urinate, strained rather violently and groaned, but passed 

 no urine. The sheath was explored, the penis withdrawn, and the 

 urethra examined by passing the fingers along the lower surface of the 

 penis ; nothing abnormal was discovered. On rectal examination the 

 bladder was found enormously distended, so that at first it was pro- 

 posed to tap the bladder with a trocar. It was, however, decided to 

 first pass a catheter. The instrument was arrested at the point where 

 the urethra passes round the ischial arch. On examining the intra- 

 pelvic portion of the urethra it appeared distended, forming a kind of 

 band extending from the bladder to just beneath the anus, where a 

 hard enlargement, painful on pressure, was discovered. An impacted 

 calculus being diagnosed, urethrotomy was performed. 



An intra-venous injection of morphine and atropine having been 

 given, the hind legs were hobbled, the catheter again passed, and the 

 perinseal region carefully washed with i in 2000 sublimate solution, 

 which was also used to disinfect the operator's hands. With an or- 

 dinary scalpel the urethra was incised over the catheter ; the lips of 

 the wound were retracted, and by exploration with the tip of the fore- 

 finger a rough-surfaced calculus was discovered about an inch and a 

 half in front of the incision. A little melted vaseline was injected, and 

 after slight manipulation the calculus was removed. A gush of urine 

 followed ; the writer estimates that in all about two gallons and a 

 half were voided. Rectal exploration failed to detect any more 

 calculi. 



After cleansing with an antiseptic solution the wound was closed 

 with three harelip sutures and the catheter withdrawn ; the parts were 

 dusted with iodoform and covered with a pad of antiseptic wool, re- 



