DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 75 



piece of bone is chipped off the subjects of this injury 

 will always seem to move slightly to one side behind, 

 and have a perceptible limp. The best method to de- 

 tect an old fracture of the illeum is to stand exactly be- 

 hind the horse and look over the quarters, when any 

 uiieveness of the two sides will be immediately de- 

 tected. 



FRACTURES OF THE BONES OF THE LIMBS. 



Causes. Falls, kicks and blows of various kinds. 

 Sometimes the bones themselves are in an extra brittle 

 condition, when they are easily broken. An illustra- 

 tion of this occurred in my own practice. A horse was 

 being driven along the street w^ien he suddenly gave 

 way on one side, and, trying to save himself on the op- 

 posite side, suddenly fell down flat and was unable to 

 rise. On examination, both thigh bones were found to 

 be fractured at about the same place on each bone. 

 When the bones were examined, they were found to 

 contain an excess of earthy matter, and a very small 

 amount of animal matter, which latter makes the bones 

 tough and not so easily broken. In the bones of old 

 animals the earthy matter is in much greater proportion 

 than in those of young animals. The bones of old ani- 

 mals are therefore more easily broken. 



Symptoms. We may have fracture of the bones of 

 the limbs without displacement, the bone being simply 

 cracked across, or partly through, and not moved out 

 of its place. In some of those cases there is not much 

 lameness. The horse may even work again in a few 

 days, to be followed perhaps by a sudden fall while be- 



