358 
PERFORATION OF TJIE BLADDER 
ceasing. On a more careful examination I found that he, every 
now and then, placed his hind limbs out of the natural centre 
of gravity, and made violent, but useless, efforts to void his 
urine. Naturally believing that these were symptoms of re- 
tention of urine, I began to inquire what could have been the 
cause of it. 
Having discovered that a great quantity of sebaceous matter, 
indurated and almost concrete, filled the extremity of the urethra, 
and presuming that this, and this alone, might prevent the 
emission of the urine, I endeavoured to remove it, by prescribing 
some injections and other applications, and then retired with the 
hope that the health of the animal would be speedily restored. 
This hope, however, being disappointed, I again visited the 
animal soon after midnight. After some consideration, I deter- 
mined to examine the urethral canal from its commencement to 
the ischial arch, and found no obstacle to the passage of the 
urine. I then introduced my hand into the rectum, in order to 
explore the origin of the urethral canal and the state of the 
bladder, which I expected to have found distended with urine. 
To my great astonishment, I found it almost empty, curved on 
itself, and lodged in the pelvic cavity. 
1 thought, and very naturally, that this reservoir, unusually 
distended, was ruptured at its extremity, and that the urine which 
it contained had found its way into the abdominal cavity. It 
appeared also, through the parietes of the rectum and the bladder, 
that an osseous tumour, terminating in a point, existed on the 
superior surface of the pubis, just at the place where the bladder 
rested ; but not foreseeing that this tumour could contribute any 
thing to the development of the disease, I did not take any 
serious notice of it, at least at that time. 
Judging from the impression which this examination had made 
on my mind, I expressed to the officer my fears, too well founded, 
with regard to the termination of the case, and promised that I 
would return on the following morning. He was somewhat as- 
tonished, however, when the soldier informed him, an hour 
afterwards, that the horse had voided a considerable quantity of 
urine without difficulty, and that he seemed to be considerably 
relieved. 
Somewhat puzzled by this, I accommodated myself to the new 
appearance of the case. I bled the animal, the state of whose 
pulse, and his evident suffering, seemed to indicate the propriety 
of this operation. I placed an emollient cataplasm on the loins, 
and prescribed some cooling drinks and injections. 
This mode of treatment seemed to produce much good effect. 
The colic ceased in the course of the night, and on the following 
