36 EXAMINA TION OF HORSES 



LECTURE V. 



Knees (continued) — Broken Knees — Term Misleading — Law on 

 Subject — Case in Point — Another Case — To decide on Inter- 

 mediate Cases of Broken Knees — Enlargements about the Knee 

 — Ganglions — Nature of Ganglions — Cannon Bone, Subcuta- 

 neous — Front Part seldom affected — Pastern Joint. 



Gentlemen, — At our last meeting, in speaking of in- 

 juries to the knee I laid much stress on the two con- 

 ditions, mechanical ivipedimejit and weakness. With 

 regard to the former you have physical signs, but this is 

 not always the case with the latter. We have no more 

 unsatisfactory term in the whole of our nosology than 

 the term " broken knees." Every degree of injury, from 

 the mere chipping off of a few hairs to the injury that 

 breaks open the joint, breaks the bones, and drains the 

 joint of its oil (synovia), is alike termed " broken knee." 

 This vagueness, bad as it is in itself, becomes a fruitful 

 source of injustice in the law courts. The law holds 

 that broken knees are unsoundness according to the ex- 

 tent of the injury. What are veterinarians to do, with 

 the law on the subject in its present state ? With the 

 law as at present, all we can do is to make the best of it. 

 Here is a case in point. About ^ year ago a very re- 



