DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 149 



manifests suffering by anxious looking at the flanks, shifting or stamp- 

 ing of the hind feet, shaking of the tail, and attempts to urinate, which 

 are either fruitless or lead to the discharge of a small quantity of high 

 colored or perhaps bloody urine. 



In some recent slight cases, and in many chronic ones, these symp- 

 toms may be absent or unobserved, and an examination of the urine 

 will be necessary to reach a safe conclusion. The urine may contain 

 blood, or it may be cloudy from contained albumen which coagulates on 

 heating with nitric acid (see Albumiimria) ; it may be slightly 

 glairy from pus, or gritty particles may be detected in it. In seeking 

 for casts of the uriniferous tubes, a drop may be taken with a fine tube 

 from the bottom of the liquid after standing and examined under a 

 power magnifying 50 diameters. If the fine cylindroid filaments are 

 seen they may then be examined with a power of 200 or 250 diameters. 

 (Plate xi, Fig. 5.) The appearance of the casts gives some clue to the 

 condition of the kidneys. If made up of large rounded or slightly 

 columnar cells, with a single nucleus in each cell (epithelial), they imply 

 comparatively slight and recent disease of the kidney tubes, the detach- 

 ment of the epithelium being like what is seen in any inflamed mucous 

 surface. If made up largely of the small disk-shaped and nonnucleated 

 red blood globules, they imply escape of blood, and usually a recent injury 

 or congestion of the kidney it may be from sprains, blows, or the in- 

 gestion of acrid or diuretic poisons. If the casts are made of a clear, 

 waxy, homogeneous substance (hyaline), without any admixture ot 

 opaque particles, they imply an inflammation of longer standing, in 

 which the inflamed kidney tubules have been already stripped of their 

 cellular (epithelial) lining. If the casts are rendered opaque by the 

 presence of minute spherical granular cells, like white blood globules, 

 it betokens active suppuration of the kidney tubes. In other cases the 

 casts are rendered opaque by entangled earthy granules (carbonate of 

 lime), or crystals of some other urinary salts. In still other cases the 

 casts entangle clear, refrangcnt globules of oil or fat, which may im- 

 ply fatty degeneration of the kidneys or injury to the spinal cord. The 

 presence of free pus giving a glairy, flocculent appearance to the urine 

 is suggestive of inflammation of the urinary pouch at the Commence- 

 ment of the excretory duct (pelvis of kidney) (Plate, ix, Fig. 1), espe- 

 cially if complicated with gritty particles of earthy salts. This condi- 

 tion is known as pyelitis. In the chronic cases swelling of the logs or 

 along the lower surface of chest or abdomen, or within these respective 

 cavities, is a common symptom. So, also, stupor or coma, or even con- 

 vulsions, may supervene from the poisonous action of urea and other 

 waste or morbid products retained in the blood. 



In the treatment of acute nephritis the tirst consideration is the re- 

 moval of the cause. Acrid or diuretic plants in the food must be 

 removed, and what of this kind is present in the stomach or bowels 

 may be cleared avray by a moderate dose of castor or olive oil; exten- 



