838 
DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
erally very rapid, if not treated surgically. Some of the con¬ 
ditions accompanying them may not require a removal of the 
kidney, but can be treated by another surgical method which 
we shall mention in connection with the surgery of the 
ureters. 
Traumatic Injuries .—Severe injury to one of the kidneys of 
an animal may require a removal of the kidney ; injuries to the 
ureters when located near the kidney may also be considered 
an indication for the operation, but if the injury is far enough 
from the kidney to permit an anastomosis of the ureter with its 
fellow, the kidney should not be removed. The subject of an¬ 
astomosis of the ureter will be discussed in some future number 
of the Review. Renal injuries accompanied by severe haemor¬ 
rhage calls for an immediate removal of the organ ; if not re¬ 
moved the accumulation of blood in the bladder or urethra 
will prevent micturation. Injuries to both kidneys should not 
be considered an indication for nephrectomy. 
Nephroptosis. —Dr. Jenner gave the first description of mov¬ 
able kidneys as observed in human subjects in 1869 ( British 
Medical Journal). Since then the condition has frequently been 
observed in human patients, but in veterinary patients it is sel¬ 
dom diagnosed during life, although it is occasionally found 
when post-mortem examinations are made, and often when it is 
least expected. In human subjects about 80 per cent, of floating 
kidneys are found in women ; 80 per cent, of all cases involve 
the right kidney; and, but 10 per cent, of all cases involve both 
organs. We are unable to find any statistics referring to do¬ 
mestic animals. The conditions may be caused by hypertro¬ 
phy of one kidney as a result of disease, or an atrophy of the 
other one. Tumors are' frequently associated with movable 
kidneys, but whether these cause dislocation by increasing the 
weight of the organ otherwise is difficult to state. Dislocation 
may follow absorption of circumrenal fat caused by disease that 
result in emaciation. The surgical treatment in nephroptosis 
should not be confined to removal of the kidney ; some of these 
cases can be successfully treated by fixing the kidney ( nephror - 
rhapy). 
Symptoms. —The principal symptoms by which renal dis¬ 
eases are detected are enlargements in the abdominal cavity 
and hematuria. In herbivora it is very difficult to diagnose 
renal tumors by manipulation, but in carnivora it is not so dif¬ 
ficult. Hematuria exists in most of these cases, and at times 
the blood accumulates in the ureter, bladder or urethra, which 
