4 Veterinary Elements. 



elasticity (the power of bending to a limited degree and 

 of sustaining shocks) is due to the animal matter in it. 

 Living bone is elastic, bluish white and insensitive. (It 

 must not be forgotten that life exists in all the several 

 parts as much as it does in the whole body, and that 

 Death, or cessation of life, occurs when the functions of 

 the various parts have ceased, and thus caused stoppage 

 of the work of the body as a whole.) Bones not only 

 form a framework, but owing to the fact that muscles 

 are attached to them, also become levers and have to do 

 with the movements of the animal. 



Quality of Bone and Its Indications. The quality of the 

 bone in an animal is of great importance, as a rule the 

 purer the breeding the better the quality of the bone; e. g. ? 

 the bones of the Thoroughbred are, according to their 

 size, more compact, heavier, stronger than those of the 

 Cart horse. The bones of the Cart horse are expanded 

 as it were to allow more surface for the attachment of 

 muscles. The question of the quality and quantity of 

 bone has become a vital one in live stock; in the beef 

 animal a certain fineness of bone is desired, as being 

 one of the indications of small offal; on the other hand, 

 an excessive lightness of bone is a defect in some breeds 

 of hogs, rendering them incapable of carrying their 

 carcass to market. 



If we saw a bone in two we find it is made up of a 

 hard and soft portion; in the soft portion a number of 

 little holes are seen, which give the cutting (or section) 

 the appearance of a section of a cane. These little holes 

 (canals) are for the passage of the blood vessels whose 

 function is to nourish the bone. One can see how that 



