FRACTURE OF THE BONES OF THE FORE EXTREMITY 245 



therefore advise that the patient be phxced in slings, and that the ground 

 be sbghtly hollowed out to receive the foot of the broken limb. A starch 

 bandage must be applied from below the knee to the middle of the arm, 

 and a thick pitch plaster round the humerus. AVith this, quietude must 

 be enjoined, and the requirements of the patient supplied without 

 disturbance. 



FRACTURE OF THE ULNA 



The prominent position occupied by the ulna predisposes it to fracture 

 beyond that of some other bones of the extremities. The olecranon, which 

 forms the point of the elbow, is more especially the seat of fracture in the 

 horse. Here the breakage may occur deep down in the elbow-joint, or the 

 summit of the olecranon may be broken away, leaving the joint intact. In 

 whichever position the fracture may be, but little can be done to bring 

 about reunion of tlie parts, and should it by any chance be effected in 

 those cases where the joint is involved, the animal will always remain 

 a cripple. 



The causes which give rise to fracture of this bone are mainly kicks 

 and blows, and on one occasion the writer has known it to occur in an 

 animal while pulling up suddenly to avoid a collision when going at 

 great speed. 



Symptoms. — In these cases the limb is brought forward with tlie 

 knee in a semiflexed condition, and the elbow is depres.sed. Any attempt at 

 progression is marked by considerable downward inclination of the fore- 

 quarter on the injured side. This attitude results from the great triceps 

 muscle having pulled the broken point of the elbow upward and ceased 

 to give support to the limb, while the biceps and the mastoido-humeralis, 

 havino; now nothing; to antagonize their action behind, draw the limb 

 forward beyond its natural limits. 



The pain and distress caused by this mishap are always considerable, 

 and progression is marked by great difficulty in bringing the leg into an 

 upright weight-bearing position. "When the elbow-joint is involved, the 

 suffering is much increased, and general enlargement of the articulation 

 soon appears. 



Immediately after the accident the detached piece of bone can be felt 

 to move, and the space dividing it from the other portion may be 

 recognized, but owing to the upward displacement it is seldom that crepi- 

 tation can he induced. 



Treatment. — Nothing can be done to bring the broken pieces together 

 and maintain them in position, and there is little hope of any good 

 resulting from treatment. 



