30 
LITHOTOMY. 
By Mr, Field. 
An aged grey gelding (having been ridden at the battle of 
Waterloo), the property of Mr. H , was brought to my in- 
firmary on the 15th September, 1842, the owner complaining 
that during his ride he would constantly stop and stale. 
There were present the following symptoms, viz. : straddling 
gait; stiffness in the movements of the loins ; frequently passing 
small quantities of urine, at times turbid and bloody ; occasional 
expression of uneasiness, but no colicky pains. The horse was 
in good condition— that is, fat. 
Suspecting stone in the bladder, I proceeded to examination 
per rectum , and very soon plainly felt a calculus of considerable 
size, and, besides that, apparently a smaller one. 
Having informed the owner of my patient of the state of his 
case, and acquainted him with the nature of the operation of litho- 
tomy as the only remedy, and at the same time having intimated 
to him that it was one never unattended with danger, and that 
the risk, in the present instance, was considerably increased by 
the great age of the horse, I received from him, notwithstanding, 
instructions, at all hazards, to undertake the operation. 
The 20th of September last was the day fixed on for its per- 
formance, on which occasion I was kindly assisted by my friend 
Mr. Percivall. While the animal remained standing, Mr. 
Percivall and myself both distinctly felt through the rectum one 
large calculus, and a smaller subtance which appeared to be one 
of a softer kind, the lesser production being by no means so 
characterizable as the larger. The horse was now cast in the or- 
dinary manner, turned upon his back, and supported in that posi- 
tion by trusses of straw. The off hind leg was, with a side line, 
partially drawn forwards, so as not to overstrain it, lest in any 
struggle the spine might, in so aged a subject, give way : the re- 
maining three legs were kept steady in their elevated position by 
ropes running through rings held by assistants. 
Having after some effort drawn the penis out of its sheath, and 
having firmly grasped it, I passed my straight metallic staff 
(larger, perhaps, than any commonly made use of), and pushed it 
onwards, until, with my other hand, I felt its blunt curved end 
protruding in the perineum. Elevating the staff, and the penis 
along with it, as much as the urethra would allow of, I committed 
both to the charge of an assistant, with strict injunctions that he 
held them firmly and steadily, and that he kept the end of the 
staff pressed home against the perineum. This enabled me to 
