Ok, if you have read this far, you probably know more about ferret penis bones than your vet. So, now lets consider the original remark about the broken penis bone being peed into the litter box. Personally, I cannot fathom how such a thing could happen without some MAJOR medical problems being present for some time prior to the expulsion of the bone fragment. Here's why: 1. Ferret penis bones are much larger than the urethra they support and partially surround. I'm sorry, but that would be quite a stretch to imagine a chunk of bacula bone coursing down the urethra like a log in a flue. 2. Like arm and leg bones, penis bones fracture across their length, not down it, so fracturing in such a way as to produce a thin sliver of bone is extremely remote. 3. Penis bones do not "float free," but are attached within the penis down its length by connective tissue. The bone would have to be stripped of this tissue before it could float into the urethra and be passed. 4. For a fragment of penis bone to become stripped of its surrounding tissues and find a way into the urethra, significant tissue destruction has to be present to the structure of the penis, as well as the urethra (not to mention the penis bone, which would be missing a portion). 5. Because the base of the penis bone is connected to the pelvis with a strong ligament, and the head of the penis bone is embedded deeply into the head of the penis and neither is going anywhere, the only possible part of the bone that could be broken free is the upper portion of the shaft. This would require TWO fractures some distance from one another, which is statistically improbable. In short, for a fragment of a penis bone to passed from the penis into the urethra and out of the body, it would have to be broken at both ends, stripped of tissue, somehow get into the urethra, and then pass through a tube smaller than itself. Your chances are better with the lottery. However, people do win the lottery, and while the chance of such an event is extremely unlikely, it is not impossible. I could imagine that a fragment of broken penis bone belonging to an early neutered ferret, eroded perhaps by infection, urine, or both, could dissolve enough so it would be small enough to pass through the remaining portions of the urethra. So, while highly improbable, it is at least theoretically possible. Now, I don't want ANYONE on the FML to assume I am flaming the person who suggested this, because I tend to think people tell the truth about their perceptions. I think people can be very accurate in reporting what they perceive, even if the factual aspects are at fault. So, I generally accept the report of a ferret urinating and something like a bone is found in the litter box, even though I hesitate to accept the diagnosis of penis bone fragment. So, what else could it be? The obvious and simple answer is a plug or stone. A ferret (or person) can form urinary stones in the tubules of the kidney, within the pelvis of the kidney, inside the tubes connecting the kidneys to the urinary bladder (the ureters), within the urinary bladder, and inside the tube that drains the urinary bladder allowing urine to be expelled out of the body (the urethra). The microscopic structure of each type of stone is subtly different, so an experienced pathologist can generally tell where the stone was first formed. Long, thin stones that might be misidentified as being a bit of bone are more than likely formed within the urethra. These stones are more than likely some form of calcium crystal embedded within a mucous plug, and when dried out, they might look to a ferret ownerand even a number of vetsas a fragment or sliver of bone. I suppose another possibility is that the penis bone broke and one end stabbed through the penis in a particularly gruesome fracture. I suppose it is possible the ferret might have broken off a portion of the exposed bone, especially if it caused pain during urination and prompted him to gnaw on it. This could have happened in or near the litter box, and while the fragment didn't actually transit the urethra, it could have been a portion of the penis bone. However, this possibility suggests profound tissue damage that would probably be noted beyond the description of "swelling." I would also expect a fair amount of bleeding. There was no mention of blood, serum, or pus in the description, some of which would have certainly been present. Bone is extremely vascular, and, surprisingly, so is the penis. It would be hard to have any injury within the penis that resulted in the expulsion of a fragment of bone that was not associated with significant spill of blood, and later of other fluids. This is especially true of the situation where a bone fragment has managed to enter the urethra. Perhaps the injury occurred some time before, and never noticed until the bone was expelled. So, is it another ferret myth? I honestly do not know. It is clear someone could have seen a bone-like object and made an erroneous assumption. If so, they are probably telling the truth from their perspective, but not relaying actual facts. There is the possibility that such an injury could have occurred, but it had to be one of those things you will only see once or twice in a lifetime. It is highly probable that a long, thin urinary stone was expelled from the urethra, which could have easily been mistaken for a piece of bone. Of course, under the microscope only bone looks like bone, so if the vet actually sectioned the material and said it was bone, then that is what it was. If so, this poor little guy proved once again that when it comes to ferrets, nothing is impossible Bob C [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 5125]