OXALURIA, 457 



OXALUKI.V. 



A condition of the system manifested by dulness, capricious 

 appetite, loss of flesh, debility, stiffness about the loins, a bran- 

 like scurf on the surface of the body — pityriasis — " hide-bound," 

 and the presence of the oxalates of lime in the urine. 



This disease is most commonly seen in hunters or other horses 

 whose work is irregular, and which have to undergo long periods 

 of fasting, as during a long and severe day witli the hounds, 

 the result of such long fasting being a weakened or debilitated 

 condition of the digestive organs, whereby the products of the 

 primary digestion are imperfectly formed, and unfitted for 

 assimilation and consumption in the processes of nutrition and 

 calorification. 



The disease is also induced by food rich in saccharine matters, 

 as carrots, turnips, or other roots, more especially if the digestion 

 is deranged. Oxalates may also appear in the urine during 

 recovery from other diseases, more especially during a protracted 

 recovery from an enzootic or inflammatory affection. 



Oxalic acid is a i)roduct of imperfect combustion or oxida- 

 tion of the amyloidal and nitrogenous matters of the body. It 

 may also result from an imperfect condition of those matters 

 primarily ; a perverted acid condition of the digestive organs, 

 impediment to the respiratory function, or from a superabun- 

 dance of food, more especially if combined with insufficient 

 exercise. Various vegetables contain oxalic acid — the sorrels — 

 but I am not aware that these are partaken of by the horse, or 

 that they are ever the cause of this disease. The pathological 

 importance of a deposit of the oxalates has been considered 

 doubtful by writers on human medicine. Some writers affirm 

 that they result from chemical changes in the urine whilst in the 

 renal passages, and that their occasional presence is no indica- 

 tion of disease. In our patients, however, their continual pre- 

 sence generally attends' a form of indigestion in which an acid 

 condition of the alimentary track is a constant accompaniment. 



Semiology. — Loss of flesh ; capricious appetite ; a dry, immove- 

 able, scurfy condition of the skin; the horse is said to be 

 hide-bound and scurfy ; a desire to lick the walls, and frequent 

 urination of a palish amber-coloured urine, the act of micturi- 

 tion being often accompanied and followed by signs of nneasi- 



