1024 Kidney Stone Disease. 



tive to pressure. In many eases the animals (horses, cattle, 

 sheep) are attacked by severe colic, either suddenly or after 

 violent motions, after jumping, etc., and during these attacks 

 repeated attempts are made to urinate. These severe colicky 

 pains are observed especially Avhen the ureter is occluded by 

 a stone which has passed out of the renal pelvis, because both 

 the mechanical irritation of the ureteral walls and the stasis 

 of the urine cause pain until the stone is finally discharged 

 into the bladder. During the attacks it may be totally im- 

 possible to void the urine if both ureters are occluded (Barthe), 

 or if, in unilateral obstruction of the ureter, the function of 

 the other kidney has been temporarily suppressed by reflex 

 action (Morgagni). A prolongation of the anuria may lead to 

 uremia. This "renal colic" usually recurs, because several 

 small stones are present in the renal pelvis and because new 

 ones are always formed which from time to time pass into the 

 ureter. 



The urine contains pus cells, perhaps epithelial cells from 

 the pelvis of the kidney, and at times a sandy sediment or 

 small stones. It is not rarely bloody, and on microscopical 

 examination tine fibrinous coagulates are found in addition to 

 red blood corpuscles. In cattle and sheep grit-like granules 

 sometimes adhere to the hairs around the opening of the 

 sheath. 



The nature of the disease may at times be discovered by 

 rectal examination or by palpation through the abdominal 

 walls, that is, in cases in which the presence of one or several 

 stones in the renal pelvis may be determined in addition to 

 the increased sensitiveness of the kidneys and of the renal 

 pelvis. If several stones are present a slight trembling is felt 

 on palpation in the walls of the renal pelvis which is produced 

 by the rubbing of the stones against each other. During the 

 colicky attacks the stone, which is wedged in the ureter, may 

 sometimes be felt as a swelling of pea to bean size, which is 

 very sensitive to pressure. 



Course and Prognosis. Kidney stones always cause pro- 

 longed disease, in the course of which attacks of colic and 

 disturbances in micturition alternate in long periods. The 

 disease develops slowly and may lead to gradual exhaustion 

 of the animal. The pyelitis which has been produced by the 

 calculi is followed by acute or chronic nephritis or the renal 

 tissue is destroyed by atrophy so that the elimination of the 

 urine is necessarily impaired, especially in bilateral disease. 

 Occasionally necrosis develops in the wall of the ureter around 

 the arrested stone and this leads to peritonitis or to purulent 

 inflammation of the perirenal connective tissue. Kidney stones 

 may also reach the bladder, may here increase in size and 

 cause catarrh of the bladder, or they may later on be forced 



