'When  matters  go  so  far  as  this,  spasm  of  the  voluntary  muscles
always  co-exists ;  but  in  the  slighter,  which  are  the  ordinary  cases,
the  contraction  of  the  canal  is  altogether  independent  of  the  action
of  the  oompressores  urethrse  muscles,  and  is  referrible  entirely  to  that
tissue  which,  as  already  observed,  is,  according  to  microscopic  demons-
tration, composed  of  minute  involuntary  muscular  fibres.  Most  fre-
quently the  contraction  of  this  tissue  is  uniform,  but  sometimes  it
would  appear  to  be  partial,  by  which  a  sort  of  slight  annular  con-
striction is  formed  capable  even  of  offering  a  feeble  resistance  to  a
bougie  of  moderate  size,  and  this  may  be  situated  in  any  part  of  the
eanfld  from  the  orifice  to  the  prostate  gland.  It  is  easy  to  conceive
how  such  a  state  may  be  confounded  with  incipient  organic  stricture.
In  either  case  the  stream  of  urine  is  necessanly  reduced  in  size,  and


280  RUBGEBT.
