Even in the male the signs of illness are at first very slight. A close observer may notice the cylinders of hard, earthy materials encircling the tufts of hair at the opening of the prepuce. It may further be observed that the stall remains dry and that the animal has not been seen to pass water when out of doors. The tail may at times be gently raised and contractions of the muscle (accelerator urinæ) beneath the anus ([Pl. IX], fig. 2) may take place in a rhythmical or pulsating manner. As a rule, however, no symptom is noticed for two days, only the animal is lacking in his usual spirits. By this time the constantly accumulating urine has distended the bladder beyond its power of resistance and a rupture occurs, allowing the urine to escape into the cavity of the abdomen. Then dullness increases; the animal lies down most of his time; he becomes stupid and sometimes drowsy, with reddish-brown congestion of the lining membrane of the eyelids; pressure on the abdomen causes pain, flinching, and perhaps groaning, and the lowest part of the belly fluctuates more and more as the escaping urine accumulates in greater and greater amount. If at this stage the oiled hand is introduced into the rectum (last gut), the animal flinches when pressure is made downward on the floor of the pelvis, and no round, distended bladder is felt. If the same examination is made prior to the rupture, the rounded, tense, elastic bladder is felt extending forward into the abdomen, containing one or two gallons of liquid. There may be uneasy shifting of the hind limbs and twisting of the tail, also frequent lying down and rising, but these symptoms are exceptional.
When the obstruction is low down between the thighs (at the S-shaped flexure), the line of the pulsating urethra from the anus downward may be felt distended with liquid, and though, by the hard swelling of the urethra, it is seldom easy to distinguish the exact seat of the stone, yet there is usually tenderness at the point of obstruction, and from this it may be accurately located.
Treatment.—The treatment of stone in the bladder or urethra consists in the removal of the stone by incision and the use of forceps. (Pl. XI, fig. 4.) When the stone has been arrested at the S-shaped flexure just above the scrotum, the patient being lean, the thickened tender part of the penis may be seized between the fingers and thumb of the left hand, while the calculus is exposed by a free incision with the knife held in the right. If there is no other obstruction between this point and the bladder, and if the latter has not yet ruptured, a flow of urine should take place from the opening. If there is no escape of liquid, a catheter or sound, one-fourth of an inch in diameter, must be passed up through the canal (urethra) until it is arrested by the next stone, on which a similar incision should then be made to effect its extraction. In case the stone has been arrested in the portion of the urethra which is in front of the arch of the hip bone and inside the pelvis, it can be reached only by making an opening into the urethra beneath the anus and over the arch of the hip bone, and from this orifice exploring the urethra with fine forceps to the neck of the bladder or until the stone has been reached and extracted. Owing to the small size of the canal (urethra) to be opened and the great thickness of erectile tissue to be cut through, the operation requires a very accurate knowledge of the parts, while the free flow of blood is blinding to the operator. A staff should always be passed up through the urethra from the lower wound, if such has been made, or, in case of its absence, through the whole length of the penis, that organ having been drawn out of its sheath until the S-shaped curve has been effaced and the course of the canal rendered straight. Upon the end of this staff the incision can be made with far more confidence and certainty. The operation can be undertaken only by a skilled veterinary anatomist, but the hints given above may be valuable in showing the stock owner when he is being properly served in such a case.
In outlying districts, where no skilled operator can be had, a transverse incision may be made with a clean, sharp knife through the root of the penis, just over the arch of the hip bone, when the urine will flow out in a full stream. The attendant bleeding may be ignored, or if profuse it may be checked by packing the wound firmly with cotton wool for several hours. The urine will continue to escape by the wound, and the ox should be fattened for the butcher.
The immediate relief is not to be looked upon as a permanent cure, as the calculi in the affected ox are usually numerous, and later attacks are therefore to be looked for. Hence it is desirable to fatten and kill such cases after a successful operation. If a breeding animal is too valuable to be killed, he should be subjected to preventive measures, as laid down under "Stone in the kidney," [page 139].
It should be added that when the bladder is filled with a soft magma a catheter may be introduced through the whole length of the urethra to be used in pumping water into the bladder. This water is extracted through the same channel when it has been charged with the suspended solids by manipulations of the bladder with the oiled hand introduced through the rectum.
CALCULI, OR GRAVEL, IN THE PREPUCE, OR SHEATH.
This is usually a collection of gravel, or a soft, puttylike material which causes distinct swelling of the sheath and gives it a soft, doughy feeling when handled. It may be removed in part by the oiled fingers introduced into the cavity, assisted by manipulation from without, or a tube may be inserted until the end extends behind the collection and water pumped in until the whole mass has been evacuated. Should even this fail of success, the sheath may be slit open from its orifice back in the median line below until the offending matter can be reached and removed. In all such cases the interior of the sheath should be finally lubricated with sweet oil or vaseline. It is unnecessary to stitch up the wound made in the sheath. (See "Inflammation of the sheath," [p. 155].)