[Peritonitis as complication of cysto-uretero-pyelonephritis in a cow]

A Holstein-Friesian heifer had shown a haemorrhagic discharge from the vulva since three days. The animal had delivered a calf nine months previously and was seven months pregnant. On admission, haemorrhagic fluid was obtained by catheterisation from the urinary bladder and by paracentesis from the abdominal cavity. At autopsy, bilateral cysto-uretero-pyelonephritis, associated with peritonitis, was observed. A perforation of one of the lobules of the right kidney was believed to be the cause of the peritonitis. The vesicoureteral reflux might have been enhanced by the presence of polyps in the urinary bladder.