THE URINE. 



797 



tate gland during sexual excitement contains numerous mucus- 

 corpuscles, which, when originating from the columnar epithelia 

 of ducts, are in part elongated. Mucus appears also as delicate, 

 striated, and fringy cylinders, the so-called " mucous casts;' 7 it 

 is doubtful, however, whether they are ever produced in the 

 uriniferous tubules. 



Sometimes pale concentric formations are found in the male 

 urine, which are so-called colloid or amyloid corpuscles of the 

 prostate gland (prostatic concre- 

 tions). Their number seems to 

 be augmented mainly in hyper- o.Jgj^o^jc 

 trophy of this gland. 



Pus-corpuscles always indi- 

 cate an inflammation along the 

 genito-urinary tract. Their ori- 

 gin was dwelt upon in the chap- 

 ter on u inflammation 77 ; here I 

 wish merely to repeat that a 

 large number of pus-corpuscles 

 arise directly from the epithelia, 

 by endogenous new formation 

 of living matter. The pus-cor- 

 puscles are the best material for 

 determining the general con- 

 stitution of the patient, his 

 chances for recovery, or the 

 probable duration of his life 

 (see page 62, Fig. 20). The 

 presence of pus-corpuscles of 



the Series P exclusively indl- of lime with magnesium salts. Magnified 300 



cates a broken-down constitu- diametem 



tion, and the rapidly approaching death of the patient. Pus-corpus- 

 cles in freshly passed urine exhibit active amceboid form-changes, 

 which may be observed exceptionally, even twenty-four hours 

 after the urine has been passed. Pus-corpuscles, with delicate, 

 hair-like prolongations (cilia), arise from the ciliated, columnar 

 epithelia of the uterus ; in freshly passed urine the cilia may show 

 waving motions. Care must be taken not to mistake the cilia 

 for bacteria adhering to the surface of the pus-corpuscles, and 

 also exhibiting oscillatory movements. 



In very dilute or highly alkaline urine, pus-corpuscles swell 

 and assume a large, globular shape, the central portion being 



FIG. 364. SIMPLE PHOSPHATES AND 

 CARBONATE OF LIME. 



A, amorphous simple phosphates ; 8, star- 



