Subsequently to the operation the bladder enjoys complete and needful rest, and the kidneys, which previously were in a condition of perpetual disturbance, improve in working power. The wound in the bladder and in the abdominal wall gradually closes; the function of the bladder returns, and the patient is soon able to go back to his usual occupation in greatly improved health and vigour. The operation is, necessarily, a serious one, and the age of the patient, the condition of his bladder, of his kidneys, and of his blood-vessels, require to be taken into consideration; still, the operation gives an excellent account of itself in statistics, and if a practical surgeon advises a patient to accept its risks his counsel may well be followed.
_Malignant disease of the prostate_ is distinguished from senile glandular enlargement by the rapidity of its growth, by the freeness of the bleeding which is associated with the introduction of a catheter, and by the marked wasting which the individual undergoes. Unfortunately, by the time that the cancerous nature of the disease is definitely recognized, the prospect of relief being afforded by operation is small. (E. O.*)
[1] _Diseases of the Genito-urinary System_, by Eugene Fuller, M.D. (London and New York, 1900).
BLADDER-WORT, the name given to a submerged water plant, _Utricularia vulgaris_, with finely divided leaves upon which are borne small bladders provided with trap-door entrances which open only inwards. Small crustaceans and other aquatic animals push their way into the bladders and are unable to escape. The products of the decay of the organisms thus captured are absorbed into the plant by star-shaped hairs which line the interior of the bladder. In this way the plant is supplied with nitrogenous food from the animal kingdom. Bladder-wort bears small, yellow, two-lipped flowers on a stem which rises above the surface of the water. It is found in pools and ditches in the British Isles, and is widely distributed in the north temperate zone. The genus contains about two hundred species in tropical and temperate regions.
[Illustration: A, Bladder of _Utricularia neglecta_ (after Darwin), enlarged. B, stellate hairs from interior of bladder of _U. vulgaris_.]