154 THE DISEASES OP THE DOG. 



although small doses of iodide of iron and cod-liver oil 

 may be resorted to for prolonging his life if he be a 

 favourite. Nephbitis or Eenitis is not frequent except 

 as a result of injury, as when a carriage passes over the 

 loins. Thanks to the thickness of both supra- and sub- 

 lumbar muscles of the dog this accident often causes no 

 serious damage, but with a heavy vehicle moving at a 

 slow pace the loin bones may be crushed and the kidneys 

 are liable to be bruised. An abscess may form in the 

 injured organ or it may undergo such disorganization as 

 to become totally absorbed, for sometimes on post-mortem 

 examination of the dog but one kidney, a large one, is 

 found. This may also result from congenital irregularity. 

 Calculi in the kidney cause suppuration and sometimes 

 extensive removal of its glandular substance by gradual 

 absorption. It is said that the imprudent use of aphro- 

 disiacs (Touatt) and cantharides blister absorbed from the 

 surface or licked by the patient (Hill) cause this disorder. 

 Exposure to inclement weather and retention of urine are 

 also advanced as causes. A patient affected with nephritis 

 suffers from high fever, straddles in his gait, feels and 

 shows acute pain when pressed over the loins, and moves 

 about in a very uncomfortable way, constantly attempting 

 to urinate. The fluid passed is scanty and high coloured 

 and may contain pus or blood. Later, coma, insensibility, 

 and frequent vomition sets in, the result of retention of 

 urea in the blood. Treatment consists in keeping the 

 animal quiet and administering opium and demulcent 

 drinks. Opiate enemata are useful, and the loins should 

 be stimulated, fomented, or poulticed, as the urgency of 

 the symptoms seem to demand. Leeches have been 

 applied to the loins with benefit. 



Eenal Calculus is a concretion of which we have 

 numerous cases on record. One or both kidneys may be 

 occupied and have undergone enlargement (with dilatation 

 of the pelvis) and inflammatory changes. The chemical 

 composition of the calculi, which are usually numerous, 

 has been found to be urate of ammonia and phosphate with 

 oxalate of lime. The symptoms vary ; at times they are 



