162 DISEASES OF THE URINAR Y AJSD SEXUAL APPARA TUS. 



DISEASES OP THE KIDNEYS. 



Inflammation of the Kidneys ; Nephritis. 



It is impossible to accurately separate the different inflammalorv 

 conditions of the kidneys, and as a rule it is only on post-mortem 

 that the conditioa can be properly diagnosed. Consequently, the 

 practitioner has to be satisfied if he can recognize with certainty 

 that the animal has some affection of the kidneys, and whether 

 it is acute or chronic. In the dog it is only in chronic nephritis 

 that we have a general atrophy of the kidney. 



The diseases of the kidneys in the dog do not possess that impor- 

 tance that they do in man. 



Acute Inflammation of the Kidneys. 

 [Acute Nephritis ; Nephritu Acuta.) 



Etiology. The most common causes of this condition are infec- 

 tious diseases and poisons. By this is meant the effect produced 

 by the absorption of infectious noxious agents, such as the various, 

 septic diseases,, or certain irritants that have originated in the body 

 and are passed by the kidneys and cause great irritation while they 

 are passing through these organs, and also certain micro-organisms- 

 that reach the blood and become located in the capillaries of the 

 kidneys. Certain chemical substances that are absorbed or taken 

 into the stomach pass through the kidneys and cause great irrita- 

 tion, such as phosphorus, arsenic, mercury, copper, cantharides, 

 turpentine, carbolic and tar acids, naphthol, pyrogallic acid, and 

 chrysarobin. Some of these preparations are absorbed by the skin 

 from various ointments that are applied in mange, such as carbolic 

 acid, mercury, cantharides, etc. 



Acute nephritis may also originate from an extension of inflam- 

 mation from neighboring organs, and also from traumatic influences, 

 such as blows, shocks, etc. , in the regions of the kidneys. There 

 is a condition called rheumatic inflammation of the kidneys that 

 is supposed to originate from cold, but this disease has not been 

 observed in the dog. 



Pathological Anatomy. The alterations in the structure of 

 the kidney depend on the intensity of the irritation, and the alter- 



