UEETHROTOIMT. 



561 



therefore said tliat the operation can be performed in three ways, 

 though three places would be the more accurate phrase. 



Thus we have first, the incision at the point of the penis, or 

 preiyutial urethrotomy y second, the division in the scrotal region, 

 or scrotal urethrotomy ; and third, the incision below the anus, 

 or ischial urethrotomy. 



Preputial Ueetheotomy. 

 In horses and dogs the urethra becomes more or less con- 

 tracted toward the full extremity of the penis, and calculi are 

 therefore apt to become arrested in that locality ; in other cases, 

 masses of sebaceous matter will collect in the navicular fossa. In 

 sheep, saline concretions are found, either in the prepuce or in the 

 urethra. All these conditions involve a contingency of surgical 

 interference. To remove them in the horse and in dogs, a trans- 

 verse incision is made with a bistoury over the spot where the 

 presence of the foreign body is detected, and it is readily disposed 

 of. If the erratic substance is in the urethra, an incision is made 

 through its membranes and it is removed in entirety, or sometimes 

 after having been reduced to fragments by means of a probe or 

 of a curator. In sheep, the simple amputation is recommended 

 by some. The wound made in these cases heals without trouble. 



Scrotal Urethrotomy. 



Scrotal urethrotomy ean be performed either on the front or 

 behind the testicles. In cattle it is ordinarily posteriorly that the 

 calculus is lodged, more commonly in the second than in the first 

 curvature, and hence the indication for selecting this place for the 

 operation. Yet there are practitioners who j)refer the anterior sec- 

 tion, because the penis being more superficial at that place, there 

 is less cellular and adipose tissue to be divided before exposing it. 



In either case, the animal is thrown, with the hind leg carx'ied 

 forward and secured as for castration. If the operation is to be 

 performed behind the testicular mass, an incision is made on the 

 median Une, measuring about three inches in length, the cellular 

 tissue divided with the knife or the finger and the penis drawn 

 out through the incision. The calculus is extracted through a 

 longitudinal incision. The canal should then be examined with a 

 probe or bougie, to ascertain whether any more ofi'ending bodies 

 are present, and if so, they are of course also removed. The 



