LITHOTOMY IN A GELDING. 
550 
ently performable on her in the standing posture. The male 
subject being cast, and turned upon his back, with his hind legs 
drawn forward, the staff — which is a polished iron one, of unusu- 
ally large size, with a curve at the end, having a grove along it — 
is passed through the penis along the urethra, and pushed on until 
it abuts against the symphysis pubis, or rather until its curved 
part has entered the curvature of the urethra, which it will readily 
be found to do. Thus introduced, the staff is to be committed to the 
operator’s assistant, and by him held in the upright position, at the 
same time that its end is kept steadily maintained within the cur- 
vature of the urethra : this will enable the operator readily to make 
an incision with his scalpel through the perineum into the groove of 
the staff, of ample dimension to admit his forceps ; which are now, 
after the finger has been introduced into the passage to make every 
thing clear, to be insinuated, and with moderate but sufficient force 
to be pushed onward into the bladder. No gorget or bistoury is 
used to dilate or to incise the urethra ; but a pair of straight for- 
ceps, having narrow spoon-shaped blades, are at once cautiously in- 
troduced, the urethra, through its extreme elasticity or dilatability, 
giving way to them. The stone extracted in the present case was 
of the mulberry description, of a round oblong shape, and weighed 
four ounces and a half. It was dark coloured, and possessed a 
strong urinous odour. The extraction of the stone was followed 
up by injections of tepid water into the bladder. 
Immediately after the operation the animal staled freely, his 
urine passing through the wound, which had been brought together 
by sutures, as w'ell as through the penis ; and for the three sub- 
sequent days urine still issued, in part, through the wound. On 
the fifth day, however, it came altogether by the natural passage. 
The horse did not experience a single untoward symptom; neither 
did he, after the operation was ended, seem to labour under any 
pain ; for he ate and drank well the whole of the time. He left 
Mr. Field’s yard on the 4th September, and is now at work, quite 
recovered. 
II.— Scirrhous Enlargement of one Ovary, accompanied 
by Ascites. 
A bay mare, the property of the Hon. Jas. Norton, was sent to 
Mr. Field’s hospital for horses on the 1st June last. She was, 
from the circumstance of her belly having undergone of late visible 
enlargement, suspected to be with foal; though from her present 
owner having not long ago purchased her, there were no very ready 
means of ascertaining whether she had been to any horse. The 
mare exhibited no pain nor ill health, save that she was losing 
