646 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



treatment of the urethra by means of irritating injec- 

 tions and the careless use of sounds. Exposure of the 

 parts to dampness and cold, as in sitting upon the 

 ground or a wet board, has occasioned the disease. 



The most common symptoms are a sensation of 

 weight and fulness about the rectum and perineum, and 

 an urgent desire to pass water, with uneasiness at the 

 neck of the bladder. When the urine is passed, more 

 or less pain is experienced at the close of the act. 

 When the inflammation attains a high degree of inten- 

 sity, the pain becomes throbbing and shooting in char- 

 acter. There is a sensation of great fulness and tender- 

 ness in the parts, also pain in the back when sitting. 

 Great pain is experienced in the movement of the 

 bowels, and in severe cases there may be obstruction 

 of the urinary passages. The patient may suffer from 

 chilliness, and generally has more or less fever. If 

 the finger is placed in the rectum, the prostate gland 

 is found to be more or less swollen and throbbing. If 

 the patient remains quiet in bed, the recovery is gen- 

 erally quite speedy, though the gland is often left in 

 an irritable and enlarged condition, and is liable to 

 the occurrence of similar attacks, or the continuance 

 of the inflammation in a chronic form, in which the 

 same symptoms are experienced, though with a less 

 degree of intensity. There is also more or less dis- 

 charge, cloudiness of urine, and much difficulty and 

 pain in passing the urine. Excessive exercise and the 

 use of irritating foods aggravate the symptoms in the 

 chronic as well as the acute form of the disease. 



Enlargement of the Prostate is usually the result of 

 acute or chronic inflammation, though it is not infre- 

 quently found in elderly persons and those who have 

 been addicted to great excesses, without the occurrence 



