THE URINE. 803 



Cuboidal epithelia, somewhat smaller than the average 

 cuboidal epithelia of the bladder, come from the prostate in 

 catarrhal prostatitis and hypertrophy of the prostate. Ciliated 

 columnar epithelia, distinctly surpassing in size those from the 

 mucosa of the uterus, indicate slight catarrhal inflammation of 

 the ejaculatory ducts. They are rarely seen ciliated, as the cilia 

 break off very easily ; but delicate parallel rods in the interior 

 of the epithelia, near their basal surface, indicate that the 

 epithelia were originally ciliated. 



Female Urine. The large, flat epithelia from the vagina are very 

 common occurrences, and indicate catarrhal vaginitis; they appear 

 singly or in clusters, and are often studded with micrococci. The 

 largest cuboidal and columnar epithelia from the vagina are ob- 

 served in cases of intense, deeply seated, or ulcerative vaginitis. 



Flat and cuboidal epithelia, smaller in size than those of the 

 vagina, and, as a rule, finely granular, often with offshoots, are 

 shed from the cervical portion of the uterus. If present with 

 pus- and blood-corpuscles and shreds of connective tissue, they 

 indicate ulceration of the cervix. 



It must be borne in mind that cuboidal epithelia are originally angular, 

 polyhedral formations, but, by swelling in the urine, assume a more or less 

 regular nay, perfectly spherical, form. The size of the spheres, however, is 

 sufficient for a diagnosis of their previous location. If destined for micros- 

 copic examination, care must be taken not to have male and female urine 

 mixed, which might easily happen in married life. On account of such a 

 mixture I once mistook the sex. In this case, besides vaginal epithelia, 

 starch-granules were also present in large numbers. The gentleman denied 

 the use of powder, and his clean urine afterward settled the question. 



I have seen prostatic epithelia of the male, and cervical epithelia of the 

 female, of a higher refracting power, a nearly homogeneous, waxy look, with 

 an indistinctly marked nucleus, in persons affected with syphilis. In a num- 

 ber of cases, from these appearances I have correctly diagnosed syphilis ; 

 but my experience in this respect is too limited yet for announcing that the 

 waxy metamorphosis of the above-named epithelia is always due to syphilis. 

 There may be other chronic ailments of the system, or of the organs from 

 which the epithelia were cast off, producing the same appearance. 



Delicate columnar, ciliated epithelia arise from the mucosa 

 of the uterus, and indicate catarrhal endometritis ; these epi- 

 thelia are found accompanied by ciliated pus-corpuscles, which 

 arise from the epithelia. In freshly voided urine I have seen 

 the cilia of both these formations in waving motion. 



Common to Both Sexes. Flat epithelia of the bladder, in 

 small numbers and without pus-corpuscles, are of normal occur- 



