The difficulty of collecting urine from infants, particularly female infants, is generally appreciated. With the present appliances, the specimen usually becomes contaminated if a stool is passed while the appliance is in place. It is necessary to hold the container securely with adhesive tape. In cases of diarrhea, it is often necessary to collect repeated specimens before one free from stool contamination is secured; and in such instances the skin may become badly excoriated by the repeated application of adhesive tape.
The accompanying illustrations represent an infant urinal that overcomes these difficulties. The lip at the lower portion of the orifice fits into the fornix between the buttocks, thus preventing fecal contamination even in cases of diarrhea. In the female, the margins of the urinal orifice fit securely against the vulva. In the male, the urinal fits in the same manner, but with the penis and scrotum within the urinal.