STONE-IN-THE-BLADDER. 
STONEH-IN-THE-BLADDER. The formation 
and irritating effects of calculi in the urinary 
organs. The nature of the calculi is treated in 
the article CancuLus; and the surgical operations 
for extracting them, in the articles Liruoromy 
and Liruorriry. 
In horses, calculi occur sometimes in the kid- 
neys, sometimes in the urethra, and sometimes in 
the czecum, but very seldom in the bladder. Cal- 
culi in the kidneys of the human subject naturally 
fall by their own weight into the bladder; while 
those in the kidneys of the horse, in consequence 
of the horizontal position of the abdomen, remain 
fixed where they are. The presence of a calculus 
in a horse’s kidney is not indicated by any cer- 
tain symptoms, and cannot be remedied or con- 
trolled; but the presence of a calculus in his 
bladder is indicated by symptoms similar to those 
of spasmodic colic, and by the irregular discharge 
and occasional suppression of urine, and may be 
certainly ascertained by throwing the animal and 
introducing the hand into the rectum while he 
lies on his back,—and is capable of being treated 
in a similar surgical way as in the human sub- 
ject, but requires to be dealt with by an expe- 
rienced veterinary practitioner. 
In cattle, calculi in the bladder are both much 
more liable to form, and much more likely to be 
retained, than in the horse; for they form round 
the granules of earthy matter which cattle some- 
what freely swallow with their food, and they 
are hindered from naturally passing away in con- 
sequence of the comparative smallness and sinu- 
osity of the urethra. Their presence is indicated 
by much fever, frequent gazing on the flanks, 
trembling of the hind limbs, ineffectual efforts to 
evacuate urine, and evacuations of it in small 
quantities and mixed with blood; and it may be 
certainly ascertained by introducing the hand into 
the rectum, and feeling the bladder. In all cases 
of proper stone in the bladder of ordinary cattle 
in tolerable condition, the most profitable course 
is to send them without loss of time to the but- 
cher; but in cases of proper stone in the bladder 
in valuable animals, or in animals too poor for 
the shambles, careful lithotomy may be attempted 
with due regard to the peculiar structure of the 
ox’s urinary organs; and in all cases, which not 
unfrequently happen, of the calculi passing natu- 
rally away, and being detained in small pieces in 
the urethra, and so obstructing the canal as to 
endanger life, recourse ought to be promptly had 
to a suitable surgical operation. A bullock whose 
urethra becomes obstructed by a piece of calcu- 
lus may be seen to stretch himself out for a few 
minutes, to make ineffectual attempts toward 
evacuation of urine, to stamp his feet as if suffer- 
ing much pain, and to kick his belly as if suffer- 
ing from colic. “Unless he is at this time re- 
lieved,” says Professor Dick, “the pain rapidly 
increases, inflammation of the bladder follows, 
and it becomes ruptured either by over-disten- 
tion, or from its own effort to force out its con- 
STORAX, 347 
tents; the urine escapes into the cellular tissue, 
or the cavity of the belly, producing inflamma- 
tion of the peritoneal coat, which is followed by 
dropsy and death. When the operation is to be 
performed on an ox, the chief circumstance to 
be attended to is this:—On making the incision 
on the part where the calculus is retained, it is 
advisable to draw the skin a little to one side 
before making the incision through the skin, and, 
having done this, the urethra may either be raised 
out from its situation in the loose cellular mem- 
brane, with which it is here surrounded, and the 
incision made into the canal, while it is thus 
roused, or, if it can be done with readiness, the 
incision may be continued through all the parts, 
while they lie in their natural position. This 
latter operation, however, requires more dexterity 
than the other, and is also more apt to lead to 
untoward consequences; because, if the incision 
is not made freely, and at once through all the 
parts into the canal, the repeated incisions pro- 
duce more or less laceration of the parts; and 
there is a considerable degree of danger that, 
from this cause, some of the urine, as it escapes 
after the opening is made, will flow into the cel- 
lular membrane, and produce a troublesome if 
not a dangerous degree of inflammation and in- 
filtration of the tissue. After the bladder has 
completely emptied itself of urine, the parts may 
be allowed to resume their natural situation. 
The skin having been drawn to one side before 
the operation was performed, will now be drawn 
over the opening in the urethra, and thus the 
wound in it will be closed. After the bladder 
has been emptied, the urine will not again pass 
along the canal for a short time, and thus the 
parts will have so far reinstated themselves by 
adhesion, and a deposition of coagulum, that the 
urine will at next evacuation flow along the na- 
tural passage, and the animal feel but little the 
effects of the operation.” 
STONE PINE. See Prinz. 
STONE WALL. See Watt. 
STONY LAND. See Sronz and Gases 
STOOK. See Sock. 
STOOL. The living and shoot-producing stump 
of a timber-tree. See the article Coppicz. 
STOOP. A prop or post resting on the ground 
and supporting either a rick or a piece of ma- 
sonry. | 
STORAX —botanically Styrax. A genus of 
ornamental, exotic, corolliflorous shrubs, con- 
stituting the type of the small natural order 
Styracineze. All the species of this order are 
handsome ligneous plants; and most are natives 
of North America. Four true storaxes, all hardy, 
white-flowered shrubs, have been introduced to 
Britain; and three more are known. 
The officinal storax, Styrax officinalis, is a na- 
tive of the south of Europe and of the Levant, , 
and was introduced to Britain toward the close 
of the 16th century. It attains a height of up- 
wards of 20 feet in its native regions; but seldom 
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