GENERAL THERAPEUTICS OF THE DISEASES OF THE 

 URINARY ORGANS 



Pathology. — ^Among the diseases of the urinary organs, those 

 of the kidneys are rather rare in the domestic animals, which is 

 entirely contrary to the relation of these diseases to man. Ex- 

 cluding pyelonephritis, which occurs frequently in cattle but is 

 scarcely accessible to treatment, the only condition affecting the 

 kidneys of practical importance in veterinary therapeutics is 

 nephritis, parenchymatous and interstitial. The latter especially, 

 which develops into contracted kidneys, is at times the object of 

 treatment in horses and dogs. Diseases of the bladder are much 

 more frequent in the domestic animals. In dogs, simple catarrh 

 of the bladder is most commonly met with, while purulent and 

 hemorrhagic cystitis are the forms of inflammation usually pre- 

 sented in horses and cattle. Cystic calculi and paralysis of the 

 bladder occur frequently in all species. On the other hand, tumors 

 occur only in isolated cases. 



Physiology. — The function of the kidneys is the secretion of 

 urine. Different parts of this work are performed by certain parts 

 of the kidneys. The water and the inorganic salts are secreted 

 by the glomeruli; the proper constituents of the urine, especially 

 the urea and uric acid, are secreted by the epithelial cells of the 

 convoluted tubules. The action of the latter cells is an active, 

 specific secretion, while in the glomeruli a purely mechanical filtra- 

 tion process is associated with the action of the epithelial cells. 

 In addition to the water of the urine, bacteria and blood also pass 

 through the walls of the glomeruli in healthy and diseased kidneys. 

 The quantity of urine excreted increases with the rise of blood-pres- 

 sure and decreases with the fall of the same. Direct or reflex 

 stimulation of the splanchnic causes contraction of the renal 

 blood-vessels and increase of blood-pressure, and a consequent 

 increase of the secretion of urine. The reaction of the urine of 

 herbivora is alkaline (calcium carbonate) ; of carnivora, acid (phos- 

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