144 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



organ having been drawn out of its sheath until the S-shaped curA'e 

 has been effaced and the course of the canal rendered straight. Upon 

 the end of this staff the incision can be made with far more confi- 

 dence and certainty. The operation can be undertaken only by a 

 skilled veterinary anatomist, but the hints given above may be valu- 

 able in showing the stock owner when he is being properly served in 

 such a case. 



In outlying districts, Avhere no skilled operator C4in be had, a trans- 

 verse incision may be made with a clean, sharp knife through the root 

 of the penis, just over the arch of the hip bone, when the urine will 

 flow^ out in a full stream. The attendant bleeding may be ignored, or 

 if profuse it may be checked by packing the wound firmly with cotton 

 wool for several hours. The urine will continue to escape by the 

 wound, and the ox should be fattened for tlie butcher. 



The immediate relief is not to be looked upon as a permanent cure, 

 as the calculi in the affected ox are usually numerous, and later attacks 

 are therefore to be looked for. Hence it is desirable to fatten and 

 kill such cases after a successful operation. If a breeding animal is 

 too valuable to be killed, he should be subjected to preventive meas- 

 ires, as laid down under " Stone in the kidney," page 139. 



It should be added that when the bladder is filled with a soft 

 magma a catheter may be introduced through the whole length of the 

 urethra to be used in pumping water into the bladder. This water 

 is extracted through the same channel when it has been charged with 

 the suspended solids by manipulations of the bladder with the oiled 

 hand introduced through the rectum. 



CALCULI, OR GRAVEL, IN THE PREPUCE, OR SHEATH. 



This is usually a collection of gravel, or a soft, puttylike materia] 

 which causes distinct swelling of the sheath and gives it a soft, 

 doughy feeling when handled. It may be removed in part by the 

 oiled fingers introduced into the cavity, assisted by manipulation 

 from without, or a tube may be inserted until the end extends behind 

 the collection and water pumped in until the whole mass has been 

 evacuated. Should even this fail of success, the sheath may be slit 

 open from its orifice back in the median line below until the offending 

 matter can be reached and removed. In all such cases the interior 

 of the sheath should be finally lubricated with sweet oil or vaseline. 

 It is unnecessan^ to stitch up the wound made in the sheath. (See 

 '^ Inflammation of the sheath," p. 165.) 



