The surgical diseases of the genito-urinary organs / by E.L. Keyes amd E.L. Keyes, Jr. ; a revision of Van Buren and Keyes's text-book, with one hundred and seventy-four illustrations.
- Edward Lawrence Keyes
- Date:
- 1903
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The surgical diseases of the genito-urinary organs / by E.L. Keyes amd E.L. Keyes, Jr. ; a revision of Van Buren and Keyes's text-book, with one hundred and seventy-four illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
32/886 page 10
![it does not. When violently contracted it doubtless does form an insurmountable barrier to bacterial invasion, but its periods of con- traction, like those of the external sphincter ani—to which it bears a close resemblance—are comparatively infrequent and of short duration. Its normal tone, however, is sufficient to make the chan- nel a narrow and difficult one, readily cleansed of any chance in- vader by the periodical outflow of urine. This irrigation is only of secondary importance, for no infection occurs by this route when the stream of urine is diverted through a suprapubic fistula; but the rapid multiplication of bacteria in the anterior urethra under these circumstances demands an occasional flushing of the canal to check the increase of its prolific population. It is suggestive, moreover, that the cut-off muscle surrounds the most sensitive part of the urethra. Hence the cause of spasm in this muscle, whether acute from some local or general shock, or chronic as a specific evidence of a neurotic habit, is not far to seek. URETHRAL AND SEXUAL HYGIENE Before passing to the morbid conditions of the urethra its hygiene in health and in disease demands consideration. In order that the urethra may be in a healthful state, able to get well if diseased, and then to remain well, two points must be ob- served. They comprise fully the hygiene of the canal. They are: (1) That the urine be non-irritating in character. (2) That sexual excitability be quieted. (1) Urine, to be non-irritating, must be normal, faintly acid, or neutral, free from sharp crystals, and not too concentrated. Hence measures tending to bring the fluid to this state are hygienic. These include general hygiene of the skin, stomach, muscles, lungs, etc., but also in many cases (especially where the subject is of gouty habit) certain dietetic precautions. The latter consist in the avoid- ance of all alcoholic fluids, especially sweet fermented wines and malt liquors. ]STew ale is particularly harmful. All of these sub- stances tend to create sharp crystals of uric acid in the urine as well as to concentrate and acidify it. From this cause alone inflammation of the urethra may spring. Lemon-juice is also somewhat irritating to the urethra, as are, to a mild degree, all the condiments—salt, pepper, mustard—and, it is said, asparagus. In inflamed conditions of the canal, general hygiene prescribes rest. (2) The quieting of sexual excitability is an object not less important, but far more difficult to accomplish. ISTo part of the body can be in perfect health unless its function is being regularly](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21172626_0032.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
