A two and one-half year old spayed female miniature schnauzer was presented to the university clinic for treatment. The owner reported that the dog had been losing hair for the past four days. No other history was available and the animal had no other observable signs.

The disease problem described here has been diagnosed with increased frequency in Iowa during the last few years. The literature contains very few references to perirenal edema as a lesion in swine, and even fewer references to the condition as a distinct disease syndrome.

The array of equipment available to the practitioner for use in diagnostics and therapy is continually augmented by new developments in various technological fields. This paper reviews several relatively recent outgrowths of medical instrumentation research. Several of the devices which are discussed already are in use in clinical medicine and surgery. One device (plasma scalpel) is still in the developmental and feasibility stage.