86 CANINE MEDICINE AND SURGERY 



tered and the bowels kept open with calomel. Po- 

 tassium iodid should be given for its diuretic and 

 deobstruent properties and the anemia combated 

 with one half dram of tincture of iron perchlorid. 

 The uremic symptoms must be met by drastic pur- 

 gatives and stimulants. Elaterium is the drug of 

 choice for this condition and should be given in 

 doses of one-fourth of a grain. 



Suppurative Nephritis 



This grave condition arises from the invasion of 

 the kidney by pyogenic organisms during the course 

 of some other diseases, such as septicemia, pyemia, 

 endocarditis, pneumonia through metastasis, or dur- 

 ing purulent cystitis by way of the ureters or from 

 renal calculus. The condition occurs in two forms, 

 the diffuse and localized (abscess of the kidney). 

 In the latter form the whole kidney may become 

 changed, by the complete destruction of its pa- 

 renchyma, so that its capsule becomes a sac con- 

 taining nothing but pus. 



Symptoms. — These are usually masked by the 

 symptoms of the primary disease, but emaciation, 

 increased thirst, fluctuating temperature, and an- 

 orexia point to suppuration and the urine should be 

 examined. The urine is usually offensive, contains 

 blood and kidney detritus, and is thick and slimy. In 

 thin animals the kidney may be palpated from the 

 exterior; and in small animals it may be palpated 

 per rectum and the condition recognized. 



Treatment. — The treatment of this condition is 

 purely surgical and consists of aspirating the pus 

 by puncture in the lumbar region or the extirpation 

 of the affected kidney by laparotomy. This opera- 

 tion is fully described on page 205. 



