Causes. Follows acute. Same causes less potent. Lesions: as in acute, or sclerosis, and abscess. Symptoms: delayed urination, last glairy or purulent, constipation, defecation followed by urethral discharge, little genital ardor, rectal palpation, tenderness of prostate to hand or catheter, atony of hind limbs. Treatment: open air life, idle, milk or succulent diet, saline laxatives or enemata, avoid generative excitement, castrate, check masturbation, iodine, camphor, antiseptic irrigations.
Causes. The acute disease often subsides leaving an indolent chronic inflammation of the organ. Apart from this, the causes are essentially those of the acute, but acting with lessened force or on a less susceptible system. Thus indoor life and overfeeding, with constipation and urine of a high density, calculus, irritant diuretics, the frequent incautious use of the catheter, infection from the catheter or otherwise, intense and frequent generative excitement, and exposure to cold are all occasional factors. Old age is a common concurrent cause.
Lesions. As in the acute form these indicate three successive, independent or concurrent forms, follicular, interstitial and suppurative.
With the distinctively follicular form the gland is usually enlarged and of a deep red color, but soft and friable, and when compressed exudes from its follicles and gland ducts a whitish muco-purulent glairy liquid. With the interstitial changes, which are often an advance on the follicular, the organ may be enlarged or shrunken, but the connective tissue has undergone a thickening and sclerosis which renders the mass firm and resistant, and which may have extended to the tissues in the immediate vicinity. In the suppurative form or stage, foci of suppuration are found throughout the gland substance, bulging out on its surface and even encroaching on surrounding tissues.
Symptoms. These are by no means obtrusive. There may be some delay in the discharge when the animal attempts to urinate, and the last drops of the urine, white and purulent or glairy, may be passed with evident pain. There is a tendency to constipation with painful straining to defecate. Compression of the prostate during defecation presses out its muco-purulent contents so that there is a greater urethral discharge following this act than at other times. This is also more abundant from the compression of the abdomen when the animal is lying down. This discharge is easily distinguished from semen by the absence or almost complete absence of spermatozoa and the abundance of spermatic crystals, precipitated by ammonia phosphate. In the earlier stages there may be undue generative excitement, erections, and even seminal discharge, with or without the movements of masturbation but in advanced cases genital ardor is usually defective or there may be practical impotence. Conclusive evidence is obtained by rectal exploration, when the enlarged, or irregularly shaped and tender prostate can be easily recognized. If a sterile catheter is passed the pain caused as it touches the prostate is significant.
In the dog the affection may last for years, and tends to advancing atony of the hind limbs. A temporary arrest of the affection is often misleading, though the urine may be clear and normally discharged, yet manipulation may show a gradually advancing abscess, and when this bursts, usually into the urethra, all the symptoms become aggravated and cystitis, urethritis and general infection are to be dreaded.
Treatment. This is far from satisfactory yet in certain purely follicular or catarrhal cases it may prove successful. An open air life, without exertion, and a milk and farina diet are desirable, yet any tendency to costiveness must be obviated by saline laxatives and enemata. The avoidance of generative excitement must be secured, not only by restraining stud animals from service, but by keeping them well apart from all females of the same species. Even castration may be sometimes resorted to with advantage. Stallions given to masturbation must be restrained by net or otherwise. Any disease of the rectum, anus, urethra or bladder should be corrected, and undue exposure to cold prevented. Lafosse advises to slaughter butcher animals for food. Hertwig recommends iodine ointment on the anus and perineum of affected dogs. It must be borne in mind that the affection is maintained by infective microbes yet it is difficult to reach and deal with these thoroughly and effectively.
As an anaphrodisiac may be given camphor, or camphor bromide, ergot or potassium bromide, along with the mild stimulating antiseptic eucalyptol or copaiba. But the irrigation of the urethra, bladder and as far as possible the prostate with such antiseptic solutions as potassium permanganate (1:10000) or silver nitrate (0.5 to 1:100) or zinc chloride (1:100) is desirable. These should be injected into the urethra so as to reach the bladder, the contents of which they will render antiseptic and thus protect the organ against the transported microbes of the prostate. In man iodoform, europhen, and ichthyol are made into a bougie with gum, palm butter or other soluble liquifiable agent and inserted in the urethra as far as the prostatic part. Similar agents are used as suppositories or enemata. Hertwig’s iodine ointment on the perineum may be advantageously replaced by sinapisms.
HYPERTROPHY OF THE PROSTATE.
In old dogs. Causes: age, overfeeding on albuminoids, rectal impaction or irritation, calculus, cystitis, urethritis, productive inflammation, trophic derangement when function declines. Lesions: hypertrophy general or partial, hard or soft, condensed or with sacs of pus, red or pale. Infective cystitis. Calculi. Symptoms: straining before urine comes, small or weak stream, sudden check, last part purulent or mucous, incontinence, triple phosphate, ammoniacal odor, crystals and dark color imply calculus. Diagnosis: by rectal exploration, and catheterization. Treatment: palliative, moderate, farinaceous, laxative diet, warmth, correct contiguous troubles, iodine, castration, extirpation of prostate.