126 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



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

 blood, or it may be cloudy from contained albumin, which coa^ilates 

 on heating with nitric acid (see "Albuminuria," p. 121) ; 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 fila- 

 ments are seen they may then be examined with a power of 200 or 

 250 diameters. (PI, 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 detachment 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 ingestion of acrid or 

 diuretic poisons. If the casts are made of a clear, waxy, homo- 

 geneous substance (hyaline), without any admixture of opaque par- 

 ticles, 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 be- 

 tokens 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, refrangent globules of oil or fat, which may 

 imply fatty degeneration of the kidneys or injuiy 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 com- 

 mencement of the excretory duct (pelvis of kidney) (PI. IX, fig. 1), 

 especially if complicated with gritty particles of earthy salts. This 

 condition is known as pyelitis. In the chronic cases swelling of the 

 legs 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 convulsions, may supervene from the poisonous action of 

 urea and other waste or morbid products retained in the blood. 



Treatment. — In the treatment of acute nephritis the first consid- 

 eration is the removal of the cause. Acrid or diuretic plants in the 

 food must be removed, and what of this kind is present in the stom- 

 ach or bowels may be cleared away by a moderate dose of castor or 

 olive oil ; extensive surfaces of inflammation that have been blistered 

 by Spanish flies must be washed clean with soapsuds; sprains of the 

 back or loins must be treated by soothing fomentations or poultices 

 or by a fresh sheepskin with its fleshy side applied on the loins, and 



