Stricture of the Urethra. 265 



animals without any restraint, but in the more sensitive or 

 restive, with one fore foot held up ; or with both hind feet in 

 hobbles furnished with ropes passing between the fore limbs and 

 tied over the neck in front of the withers ; or finally with a 

 twitch on the nose. 



The rectum is emptied, and with the oiled or soap3^ hand the 

 penis is found and slowly withdrawn from the sheath by steady 

 traction. This is usually easy, though in certain cases, with a 

 short penis and specially strong retractors, it will seriously tax 

 the operator's .skill and address. In a specially obstinate case a 

 hypodermic injection of morphine may be resorted to. 



If the horse is down, as in paraplegia or haemoglobinsemia, he 

 may lie on his right side while the operator stoops over him from 

 the loins ; or his feet may be drawn together by hobbles, and the 

 subject turned on his back, the operator placing himself as before 

 on the left side. 



The catheter must have been previoush' cleansed and disin- 

 fected outside and in. A mercuric chloride solution i : 2000, or 

 boric acid i : 50 or permanganate of potash r : 50 may be 

 employed. Then it must be smeared, preferabl}- with va.seline 

 but, in case of necessity, with sweet oil, glycerine, borated lard, 

 or even castile soap. 



The penis being withdrawn from the sheath, the catheter con- 

 taining its stilet is introduced into the urethra and pushed on 

 slowly and carefully until its point can be felt over the ischiatic 

 arch. The stilet is now drawn out a few inches and the point of 

 the catheter is bent forward over the i.schium by the finger. The 

 stilet is further drawn out and the catheter can easily be 

 pressed on into the bladder. If any difficulty is experienced it 

 may be guided by the hand introduced into the rectum. 



In one extraordinary ca.se, I found that the catheter entered a 

 dilated seminal vesicle and failed to evacuate the bladder. This 

 untoward occurrence must be rectified by the aid of the hand in 

 the rectum. Usually the penetration of the bladder is signalized 

 by the overcoming of resistance, and when the stilet is withdrawn 

 the urine flows in a steady stream. If it fails to flow, a .slight 

 compression of the fundus of the bladder by the hand engaged in 

 the rectum will start the stream. 



The catheter should be withdrawn slowly and carefully. 



