Analoiiiical Changes, Symptoms. 1027 



bladder (in cattle it may be i/o m. long and as wide [Kitt], 

 in pigs it may attain a weight of 42 kg. [Ricliter]). The wall 

 of this bladder is formed by the thickened capsule of the kidney 

 and only here and there isolated portions of the cortical kidney 

 substance may be seen. The lobulated kidneys now are divided 

 into several compartments and, if the impediment is in the 

 region of the bladder, these compartments form the direct con- 

 tinuation of the ureter w^liich occasionally may also be dilated 

 excessively. In less severe cases the cross section shows a 

 variable layer of the renal substance, which looks firm and 

 anemic; in disease of slight degree, only the calyces and the 

 pelvis of the kidney are dilated noticeably. 



In the cystic kidney it is nsual to find partial or total telerosis of the renal 

 tissue and in addition watery cysts of from poppy- to hemp-seed size, or, if they 

 have become confluent, vesicles as larj^e as hazelnuts or larger, np to the size of 

 a fist and even of a man 's head ; they have a white-bluit-h luster and are wabbly. 

 In cattle the separate renal lobes may thus be transformed into cysts. 



Symptoms. One kidney may be altered very greatly, as 

 above described, without causing any particular disturbances 

 in regard to the discharge of urine, because the other organ, 

 which has become enlarged by compensation, is capable of at- 

 tending to the elimination of the urine. In bilateral disease 

 symptoms may become manifest much earlier, especially a 

 permanent or intermittent diminution in the quantity of urine, 

 which may even amount to complete, although transitory 

 anuria, dependent upon whether the discharge of the urine 

 is impeded continuously by the underlying cause or only from 

 time to time. If the anuria persists for a long time, or in 

 the case of a severe bilateral hydronephrosis, uremic symptoms 

 are not long in making their appearance. On rectal explora- 

 tion or on external palpation of the abdomen one or both kidneys 

 are more or less enlarged and fluctuating but not painful. 

 The dilated ureter may sometimes be palpated from the rectum. 

 In smaller animals the enlargement of the kidney may lead 

 to a considerable increase in the size of the abdomen and in 

 such cases exploratory puncture of the swelling yields a urine- 

 like fluid. 



Eichter observed, in a two-year-old pig, an enormous enlargement of the 

 abdomen which almost touched the floor and showed distinct fluctuations; the 

 motions of the animal were clumsy and staggering; it often assumed a sitting 

 position like a dog. 



In the majority of cases hydronephrosis does not seem to 

 cause any particular disturbance of health, and none was ever 

 observed in cystic kidney, which usually atfects only portions 

 of the kidneys. 



Treatment. If the impediment to the flow of urine canna 

 be removed only extirpation of the affected kidney (nephrec- 



