CHAPTER II. 



DISEASES OF THE BLADDER. 



ACUTE CYSTITIS. 



Cystitis, or inflammation of the bladder, may be divided into two 

 varieties : simple (acute or chronic) cystitis, and chronic cystitis due to 

 the presence of calculi. 



Simple acute cystitis occurs most commonly in the cow, less fre- 

 quently in the ox, and rarely in the pig or sheep. Female animals 

 are more subject to it than males. 



It consists of more or less acute inflammation of the vesical mucous 

 membrane. The inflammation sometimes extends to the muscular coat 

 and the peri-vesical tissues, setting up local or general peritonitis. 



Causation. The internal causes to which Cruzel attributes the 

 disease are rather open to question. Eetention of urine in particular 

 is common in working oxen, which only pass urine when resting, and 

 this would be more likely to produce distention, paralysis, or rupture 

 of the bladder than true inflammation ; it is doubtful whether inflam- 

 mation would even follow the chronic irritation resulting from fre- 

 quently repeated over-distention. 



The ingestion of irritant plants certainly has a more marked action. 

 Irritant principles eliminated by the kidneys might not injure them, 

 although they would bring about changes in the vesical mucous mem- 

 brane, with which they would remain in contact for some time. 



More frequently cystitis is the result of inflammation due to con- 

 tinuity of tissue, and forms a complication of urethritis, vaginitis, 

 and the conditions set up by retention of the after-birth. It may 

 also result from ascending infection causing pyelo-nephritis, or ascend- 

 ing infection of any kind which eventually attacks the bladder. It 

 is a very common consequence of the use of unclean catheters, but 

 only in equines and females, as the catheter is not passed in the ox 

 or bull until after urethrotomy. 



In by far the majority of cases it is of infectious, and not of toxic, 



origin. 



Symptoms. At first the symptoms are obscure. They commence 

 with sli'^ht colic, and are afterwards characterised by frequent, difficult 



