DISEASES OF THE PROSTATE. 667 



even in them is seldom seen ; Forster has, however, examined several 

 cases of the kind. Sickert made the post-mortem of a horse in 

 which the prostate weighed 2| lbs. Tumours are common in the 

 prostate ; Cadiot found cancer. 



In sheep, Gurlt described a so-called prostatic calculus, consisting 

 partly of a precipitate from the secretion of the gland, partly of gravel 

 from the bladder. 



The gravity of these conditions depends on the fact that the urethra 

 is compressed and urination rendered difficult. Acute inflammation 

 may extend to the urinary passages, cause disease of the urethra 

 and bladder, and prove fatal from pyelonephritis. 



Symptoms and progress. Difficulty in defsecation and urination 

 first directs attention to the disease. The animals strain, some- 

 times without result, sometimes with the discharge of urine in a 

 thin stream or in drops, sometimes urine is discharged involuntarily. 

 If in dogs thus suffering urethral calculus is absent, a rectal ex- 

 amination must be made, when the swollen prostate will be felt close 

 behind the bladder. When acutely inflamed, the swelling is soft 

 and painful, but in chronic conditions it is hard and painless. 

 Prostatic calculi sometimes cause the gland to feel almost like a 

 shot-pouch. Abscesses occasionally discharge into the urinary 

 passages under the pressure of the finger. Haubner examined a 

 dog in which the prostate gland was as large as a hen's egg ; pressure 

 caused the discharge of a purulent, ill-smelling fluid through the 

 urethra, after which recovery occurred ; but in the case noted by 

 Reinemann in a steer the animal died from cystitis. 



Hypertrophy of the prostate and tumours generally cause death 

 by interfering with urination, or they may necessitate slaughter 

 of the animal. Lineaux saw cases of hypertrophy of the prostate 

 in dogs ; in one there was intermittent bleeding and difficulty in 

 urination ; in the other these symptoms were accompanied by 

 secondary cystitis and hydronephrosis. Both cases ended fatally. 

 A third case was complicated with perineal hernia ; this also died. 



Treatment. In acute cases, laxatives and clysters remove the 

 pressure on the urethra resulting from a distended rectum. Abscesses 

 in the gland can be evacuated through the rectum. Disinfectant 

 fluids may be injected through the catheter. In chronic disease 

 in man extirpation has been practised. Castration was warmly 

 recommended as a cure for enlarged prostate in man by White, of 

 Philadelphia. A number of cases were operated on with marked 

 success, cases where the catheter had been used for years showing 

 immediate improvement, and patients being able to urinate without 



