152 DISEASES OF CA.TTLE. 



likely to be powerless, and the neck of the bladder may also be par- 

 alyzed so that the urine dribbles away continuously. 



Causes. Among the causes of spasm of the neck of the bladder may 

 be named the lodgment of small stones or gravel, the feeding on irritant 

 diuretics (see Bloody Urine, Nephritis), the enforced retention of urine 

 while at work, or during a painful or difficult parturition. The irrita- 

 tion attendant on inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bladder 

 may be a further cause of spasm of the neck, as may also be inflamma- 

 tion of the channel (urethra) back of the neck. Extensive applications 

 of Spanish flies to the skin, the abuse of diuretics, and the occurrence 

 of indigestion and spasms of the bowels are further causes. So long as 

 spasmodic colic is unrelieved retention of water from spasm of the neck 

 of the bladder usually persists. 



Treatment will depend largely on the cause. In indigestion the irri- 

 tant contents of the bowels must be got rid of by laxatives and injections 

 of warm water 5 Spanish-fly blisters must be washed from the surface ; 

 a prolonged and too active exertion must be intermitted. The spasm 

 may be relaxed by injecting one-half ounce solid extract of balladonna 

 ill water into the rectum or by a solution of tobacco. Chloroform or 

 ether may be given by inhalation, or chloral hydrate 1 ounce may be 

 given in water by the mouth. Fomentations of warm water may be 

 made over the loins and between the thighs, and the oiled hand in- 

 serted into the rectum may press moderately on the anterior part of the 

 bladder, which can be felt as an elastic fluctuating bag of an oval shape 

 just beneath. 



All other measures failing, the liquid must be drawn off' through a 

 tube (catheter). This is, however, exceedingly difficult alike in male 

 and female, and we can not expect an amateur to succeed in accom- 

 plishing it. In the cow the opening into the bladder is found in the 

 median line of the floor of the generative entrance, about 4 inches in 

 front of the external opening, but it is flanked on either side by a blind 

 pouch into which the catheter will pass in 99 cases out of 100 in the 

 hands of any but the most skilled operator. In the bull or steer the 

 penis, when retracted into its sheath, is bent upon itself like the letter 

 S, just above the scrotum and testicles (see Plate ix, Fig. 2), and unless 

 this bend is effaced by extending the organ forward out of its sheath 

 it is quite impossible to pass a catheter beyond this point. When, how- 

 ever, the animal can be tempted by the presentation of a female to pro- 

 trude the penis so that it can be seized and extended, or when it 

 can be manipulated forward out of the sheath, it becomes possible 

 to pass a catheter of small caliber (one-third inch or under) onward 

 into the bladder. Youatt advised to lay open the sheath so as to 

 reach and extend the penis, and others have advocated opening 

 the urethra in the interval between the thighs or just beneath 

 the anus, but such formidable operations are beyond the stockowner. 

 The incision of the narrow urethra through the great thickness of 



