The Abdomen 237 



Gluck, and Zeller, and others. But it must be borne in mind that 

 a favorable termination to the latter operation could only be hoped 

 for in a young or middle-aged animal free from cachexia. Lienaux 

 attempted the removal of a myoma by blunt dissection, but experi- 

 enced excessive hemorrhage from which the animal succumbed two 

 days later. 



Surgery of the Bladder 



For all operations on the bladder the animal should be secured 

 with hopples in the dorsal position. 



Simple operations, such as catheterization, irrigation and punc- 

 ture are performed without the aid of anesthetics, but all operations 

 involving celiotomy or perineal litholopaxy require general anes- 

 thesia. When the continuity of the wall of the organ is interfered 

 with Znamensky has advised the use of chloroform for the reason 

 that it is the only anesthetic which prevents muscular contractions, 

 the wound remaining its natural size, thus permitting of linear 

 suturing. Chloretone, since invented, produces the desired effect 

 equally as well. The opening in the abdominal wall should be made 

 immediately in front of the pubic border, in the median line, the 

 penis in the male being dislocated for this purpose. (See Celio- 

 tomy.) 



The bladder is a prominent organ and easily reached. Some 

 authors advise the introduction of a catheter by way of the urethra 

 to facilitate its finding, but this is superfluous. When empty it is 

 easily pulled forward out of the abdominal wound, but when distend- 

 ed this becomes more difficult owing to hindrance offered by the most 

 prominent ligaments — the two lateral and the median unbilical en- 

 closing the obliterated urachus. On raising the organ and examin- 

 ing its superior aspect, two prominent vessels are seen which bi- 

 furcate and with others are distributed over the surface of the organ 

 in an arborescent manner. They become still more prominent when 

 the wall of the organ undergoes hypertrophy, as is commonly seen 

 in the presence of calculi, enlarged prostate, etc. Most of the 

 vessels lie just beneath the serosa and are therefore easily ligated. 

 When the organ is distended they are stretched but when it is con- 

 tracted they become very tortuous. The ureters find insertion im- 

 mediately to the outside of the two prominent vessels just before 



