STONE IN THE SLAB DEB. 179 



Urethrotomy is usually performed from the posterior end of the bone of the 

 penis, as the great majority of uric calculi pass down the urethra and lodge 

 at the posterior end of the bone of the penis, and can be detected by the cath- 

 eter ; when this is passed there is a certain rough sound that resembles 

 crepitation. Lay the animal on the side, and after having injected the skin 

 with cocaine or administered ether — if the animal be very hard to handle, 

 although the latter procedure is rarely necessary — make an incision about 

 3 cm. in length, cutting down on the urethra. The calculus can then be 

 pushed back toward the opening in the majority of cases, and by means of 

 a pair of small forceps the stone can be grasped and pulled out. In some 

 cases it is necessary to enlarge the opening in the urethra ; as a rule, how- 

 ever, do not make the opening any larger than is absolutely necessary. It 

 is well to leave the wound open except it is a very large animal or if the 

 stone should be exceptionally large ; in that instance do not put more than 

 one stitch in it. For two days the urine escapes out of the external open- 

 ing, but soon closes up, and in about eight to ten days it has closed up com- 

 pletely and the urine is passed in the natural way. 



Cystotomy : when the stone is located in the bladder the catheter is 

 passed directly into it, and an incision is made into the urethra down on 

 the catheter at the arch of the urethra, and then a well-oiled pair of for- 

 ceps is introduced into the bladder and the stone grasped and crushed, if 

 possible, and the bladder and urethra washed out with tepid water. In 

 some cases the entire tract of the urethra is packed with small uric cal- 

 culi, starting from a fairly large stone at the posterior end of the bone 

 of the penis, and it is only necessary to remove the larger stone, when the 

 others will be passed out by the force of the urine Friedberger mentions 

 one case where there were forty packed in the urethra ; these varied in size 

 from a small seed to a pea, and the whole mass weighed about 28 grammes. 

 The operator cut down on the urethra on the ischial arch and washed the 

 stones from the end of the penis, and then by injections filled the bladder 

 with warm water and washed out that part, assisting the emptying of the 

 bladder by pressure on the abdominal walls. The animal made a complete 

 recovery. 



The translator finds that quite frequently calculi accumulate in the con- 

 stricture of the urethra at the posterior end of the bone, and operates in the 

 following manner : Introduce a catheter into the penis until it reaches the 

 obstruction, and by means of a tape looped around the free end of the penis 

 it is drawn away from the prepuce, which is held back by an assistant, and 

 then cut down on the end of the catheter ; the catheter is pulled back a short 

 distance,- but not entirely, and the penis bent over, and by means of a small 

 pair of blunt forceps the stone can be removed ; when this is accomplished 

 pass the catheter into the bladder, and wash out any calculi that may still 

 remain in the bladder or urethra ; by means of a small hose attach the 

 catheter to a syringe and inject the bladder full of tepid water. 



In the bitch the operation is much more simple. The urethra is opened 

 by means of a thin tenotome introduced on a grooved director and the 

 opening enlarged, and then the forceps passed into the opening, the stone 



