t died. Caudmont mentions a man of twenty-six who introduced a
pencil-case into his urethra, from whence it passed into his bladder.
It rested about four years in this organ before violent symptoms
developed. Perforation of the bladder took place, and the patient died.
Poulet mentions the case of a man of seventy-eight, in whose bladder a
metallic sound was broken off. The fractured piece of sound, which
measured 17 cm. in length, made its exit from the anus, and the
patient recovered. Wheeler reports the case of a man of twenty-one who
passed a button-hook into his anus, from whence it escaped into his
bladder. The hook, which was subsequently spontaneously passed,
measured 2 1/2 inches in length and 1/2 inch in diameter.

Among females, whose urethrae are short and dilatable, foreign bodies
are often found in the bladder, and it is quite common for smaller
articles of the toilet, such as hair-pins, to be introduced into the
bladder, and there form calculi. Whiteside describes a case in which a
foreign body introduced into the bladder was mistaken for pregnancy,
and giving rise to corresponding symptoms. The patient was a young girl
of seventeen who had several times missed her menstruation, and who was
considered pregnant. The abdomen was more developed than usual in a
young woman. The breasts were voluminous, and the nipples surrounded by
a somber areola. At certain periods after the cessation of
menstruation, she had incontinence of urine, and had also repeatedly
vomited. The urine was of high specific gravity, albuminous, alkaline,
and exhaled a disagreeable odor. In spite of the signs of pregnancy
already noted, palpitation and percussion did not show any augmentation
in the size of the uterus, but the introduction of a catheter into the
bladder showed the existence of a large calculus. Under chloroform the
calculus and its nucleus were disengaged, and proved to be the handle
of a tooth-brush, the exact size of which is represented in the
accompanying illustration. The handle was covered with calcareous
deposits, and was tightly fixed in the bladder. At first the young
woman would give no explanation for its presence, but afterward
explained that she had several times used this instrument for relief in
retention of urine, and one day it had fallen into the bladder. A short
time after the operation menstruation returned for the first time in
seven months, and was afterward normal. Bigelow reports the case of a
wom