A PERI NEPHRITIC ABSCESS. 
115 
which, however, was not detachable ; but upon manipulation 
BLOOD CLOTS. 
proving to be simply more toughened by exposure to the at¬ 
mosphere. This blood-clot following the evacuation of the 
bladder, and not preceding it, as I had been repeatedly informed, 
exploded the theory of the urethra having been the mould for 
the clots, and I was also convinced, the solution coming from 
the bladder both times unstained, that the trouble was not in the 
bladder, but in the kidneys ; so that what was intended for a 
therapeutic agent, became instead a diagnostic agent, and, as a 
consequence of this diagnosis, I gave a grave prognosis. At 
this juncture, I prescribed 3 ii doses of potassii iodidum, three 
times a day, and requested the owner to let me have consulta¬ 
tion upon the case, which he refused, saying he was satisfied 
that I was doing all that could be done. This I thoroughly 
realized, but as he still retained hopes, and I appreciated the 
gravity of the case, I was desirous, in addition to having some 
light shed upon the cause of the symptoms, of having my prog¬ 
nosis verified or strengthened, at least, by a second opinion. 
However, in the course of a day or two, as the condition con¬ 
tinued, and 18, 24, to 40 inches of those strings of clotted blood 
were ready for me, each day when I called, laid out upon 
