28 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



To examine the kidneys by pressure the pressure should be 

 brought to bear over these organs. The kidneys lie beneath the ends 

 of the transverse processes of the vertebrae of the loins and beneath the 

 hindmost ribs. If the kidneys are actually inflamed and especially 

 sensitive, pressure or light blows applied here may cause the horse to 

 shrink. 



The physical examination of the sexual and generative organs is 

 made in large part through the rectum, and this portion of the exami- 

 nation should be carried out by a veterinarian only. By this means 

 it is possible to discover or locate cysts of the kidneys, urinary calculi 

 in the ureters, bladder, or upper urethra, malformations, and acute 

 inflammations accompanied by pain. The external genital organs are 

 swollen, discolored, or show a discharge as a result of local disease or 

 from disease higher in the tract. 



The manner of urinating is sometimes of considerable diag- 

 nostic importance. Painful urination is shown by frequent attempts, 

 during which but a smaU quantity of urine is passed. This condition 

 comes from inflammation of the bladder, stones of the bladder, or 

 hemorrhage, tumors, bruises, etc. The urine is retained from spasms 

 of the muscle at the neck of the bladder, from calculi, inflammatory 

 growths, tumors, and paralysis of the bladder. 



The urine dribbles without control when the neck of the bladder 

 is weakened or paralyzed. This condition is seen after the bladder is 

 weakened from long-continued retention and where there is a partial 

 paralysis of the hind quarters. 



Horses usually void urine five to seven times a day, and pass 

 from 4 to 7 quarts. Disease may be shown by increase in the number 

 of voidings or of the quantity. Frequent urination indicates an irri- 

 table or painful condition of the bladder. In one form of chronic 

 inflammation of the kidneys and in polyuria the quantity may be 

 increased to 20 or 30 quarts daily. Diminution in the quantity of 

 urine comes from profuse sweating, diarrhea, high fever, weak heart, 

 diseased and nonsecreting kidneys, or an obstruction to the flow. 



The urine of the healthy horse is a pale or at times a slightly red- 

 dish yellow. The color is less intense when the quantity is large, and 

 is more intense when the quantity is diminished. Dark-brown urine 

 is seen in azoturia and in severe acute muscular rheumatism. A 

 brownish-green color is seen in jaundice. Red color indicates admix- 

 ture of blood from a bleeding point at some part of the urinary tract, 

 usually in the kidneys. 



The urine of the healthy horse is not clear and transparent. It 

 contains mucus, which causes it to be slightly thick and stringy, and 

 a certain amount of undissolved carbonates, causing it to be cloudy. 

 A sediment collects when the urine is allowed to stand. The urine 

 may be unusually cloudy from the addition of abnormal constituents, 

 but to determine their character a chemical or microscopic examina- 

 tion is necessary. Red or reddish flakes or clumps in the urine are 

 always abnormal, and denote a hemorrhage or suppuration in the 

 urinary tract, (Spl. Rpt. Horse, Dept. Ag. 1911.) 



