URETHRITIS. 157 
Only in rare instances can the cause of this be determined; but it is safe to 
assume that the inflammation may be excited by constitutional troubles as well 
as local irritations, for it is occasionally noted late in distemper. 
It gives rise to considerable discomfort, and induces the victim to frequently 
lick the affected parts, from the opening of which there is discharged a thick 
and yellowish matter. Usually also, but not always, there is some local swelling, 
tenderness and redness. 
Cleanliness is the primary essential; and this alone maintained, a cure will 
often speedily occur. It is well, however, to use a medicated lotion, and a very 
efficacious one may be made by adding half an ounce of tannic acid to a half 
pint of water. The sheath having been drawn back as far as possible, the 
exposed parts should be bathed with this three or four times daily. 
Where there is swelling and tenderness, it is advisable to bathe with clean 
water, as warm as can be borne without discomfort, for five or ten minutes before 
using the lotion of tannin. But in this instance the sheath should not be drawn 
back while the warm water is being applied. 
Balanitis may prove obstinate, yet in a fairly healthy subject a cure should 
eventually take place. But the fact must be kept in sight that oftener than 
otherwise the affection is made worse by experimenting with medicinal applica- 
tions. 
URETHRITIS. 
The passage by which urine is discharged from the bladder is known as the 
urethra, and inflammation of its lining membrane as urethritis, an affection that 
is not common in dogs. 
Some of the sufferers from it have prostatic trouble, and disease of that 
gland appears to favor urethritis. Among other probable causes is the lodge- 
ment of dirt in the affected parts. It may be due to peculiarities in the urine 
which render it highly irritating, and such condition generally exists when the 
passage of urine has been obstructed and ammoniacal changes have occurred 
in it while retained in the bladder. It may also be rendered irritating by certain 
medicines and foods. Condiments, for instance, have that effect upon the urine; 
hence it is not surprising that a large proportion of its victims are delicate and 
pampered pets, fed at the table, also frequently on candies, pastries, and the 
like. 
This affection is characterized by redness and slight swelling of the passage, 
and more or less profuse muco-purulent and yellowish-white discharge, which, 
when the sheath is forced back, is seen to come from the urethra, and thus an 
attack is distinguishable from one of balanitis. 
Cures usually take place in the course of two or three weeks without inter- 
