Note 72 — Chapter LVI · THE MALE GENITAL ORGANS.

Van Hook has recommended the following excellent expedient for the discovery of the urethral canal when apparently lost in the depths of a dense, deep stricture: He gives a dose of potassium iodide two or three hours before the operation. During the latter, and when seeking the proximal end of the urethra, he drops a little acetate of lead solution at the point where the urine is expected to appear. The formation of the bright-yellow lead iodide will mark the actual appearance of the urine and indicate its source.