RHEUMATISM. 
721 
symptoms of colic ; but there was some irritation of the bladder. I removed this 
calculus (exhibiting a large stone) from a mare in September and she dropped a 
living foal the next March. The incontinence in this case had subsided at the 
end of the third week. The operation on the gelding for the removal of this 
stone was similar to the one described in the paper. I did not suture the exter¬ 
nal wound, which healed very nicely in a short time. These animals were anaes¬ 
thetised.” 
Prof. Stalker: “I would advise the use of anaesthetics in the mare when the 
stone is large, but think it better to operate on the gelding in the standing posi¬ 
tion. The operation is not a painful one, at least the horse I operated on did not 
kick nor make much objection, yet precaution should be taken to make it impos¬ 
sible for the operator to be injured.” 
Dr. Stewart: “I would like to ask Dr. Ingar to describe his method of 
operating in the mare.” 
Dr. Ingar : “ I gradually dilated the urethra with my hand, taking thirty or 
forty minutes to dilate the sphincter sufficiently to allow my hand to pass. The 
stone was grasped with thumb and fingers and removed with the hand.” 
Dr. Brown saw a calculus removed from a gelding, in which case the stone 
was grasped by a pair of human obstetric forceps, and he would suggest their use 
in a mare. 
Dr. Stewart thought the suggestion a good one. The peculiar manner of 
locking the blades would admit of their easy introduction into the bladder, and 
the shape of the blades would facilitate dilatation of the vesical sphincter by steady 
traction, which would be much easier upon the operator and quite safe to the 
animal; care being taken to select suitably shaped forceps. 
Dr. Johnson: “Would not a collodion dressing over the sutured wound in 
the male secure primary adhesions ? ” 
Prof. Stalker: “The urine will find its way around the catheter into the 
wound and prevent the union of the parts. The results are very satisfactory 
without the use of sutures.” 
RHEUMATISM. 
By E. Diggs, Y.S. 
(A Paper read before the Indiana Veterinary Association). 
Rheumatism is a subject of great importance, one which 
will admit of broad discussion, is very common, baffles the 
wisest of men, and one which should be investigated and re¬ 
investigated until, if possible, the causes are better known, 
and the treatment improved. 
Therefore, 1 bring this paper before you, not for the pur¬ 
pose of telling you all about rheumatism, but to tell you what 
little I know about it from observation and experience, and 
what prominent writers say about it, (principally the latter). 
