he 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 opera