194 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



bladder. Through this openhig he introduced the first and 

 second finger of the left hand into the bladder, and with his right 

 hand in the rectum he forced the stone towards them, and by 

 these means the stone was conducted to the neck of the bladder, 

 and by a stronger pressure forced out through the opening that 

 had been made in the urethra. The wound soon healed, except 

 a small orifice through which a little of the lu-ine continued to 

 pass, but the horse had been working regularly withovit feeling 

 any inconvenience from it. 



[Professor Girard, of the French school, has written an able 

 memoir on the subject of vesical calculi, lie advises the opera- 

 tion to be performed with the patient, whether male or female, 

 in a standing posture, and properly secured, and directs the 

 incision in the male to be made in an oblique direction. " In 

 the female," he says, " the stone may be extracted by the dila- 

 tion of the urethra by mechanical means, aided by relaxing in- 

 jections and fomentations; cystotomy is only to be resorted to 

 when these fail." In this case, lithotomy consists simply in lay- 

 ing open the urethra along its median line and from behind for- 

 wards : it is to be performed with a bistoury directed by one of 

 the fingers of the left hand. In this manner, M. Dufils, V. S., 

 at Bourdeaux, in 1821, extracted a stone from a mare, which 

 was lodged in part in the meatus imnarius, whereby she, who 

 Avas before the subject of frequent colics, became at once re- 

 stored to ease, and speedily afterwards to health. In the centre 

 of the stone was found an almond, forming its nucleus. At the 

 time it was shown to us, M. Dufils assured us that it had lost 

 much of its weight and volume, proving thereby that these 

 calculi contain a large proportion of fluid, the evaporation of 

 which evidently brings on this diminution. 



Professor Sewell, a few years since, performed the operation 

 successfully, and thus relates it: 



" The horse is twelve years of age, and has been hunted 

 regularly the last seven years, up to the period of admission 

 (February 14.). He had for several months evacuated very high- 

 coloured turbid urine, often mixed with blood, expressing great 

 pain, with continued attempt to expel moi'C. The symptoms 

 were increased with a fall into a ditch, by which he was supposed 

 to have injured the kidneys, as it was followed by more frequent 

 evacuations, and at the conclusion by pure blood. By the 

 treatment pursued, these violent symptoms were alleviated, but 

 always returned after exertion. After his admission the symp- 

 toms continued, but were relieved by aperients or light diet. 

 The pulse was kept up by irritation to 38 per minute, the 

 healthy average being 32. 



" Suspecting calculus might be the cause, I examined the 

 bladder, by introducing my hand and arm up the rectum, and 



