SPINAL CARIES. TUBERCULAR OR OTHER INFEC- 

 TIVE DISEASE OF THE VERTEBRA. 



Spinal caries in old horses, sprains, fractnres, infections ; caries often 

 confined to articulating processes : anatomical form : Oxoido-atloid caries 

 from poll evil, concussions, fights, rachitis. Tubercle of bone and interver- 

 tebral cartilage in cattle. Symptoms : distortion, stiffness, rigidity ; stands 

 day and night, sensory and motor paralysis : localization of lesion ; dyspnoea ; 

 spastic palsy back of lesion ; effect on tail, sphincters. Diagnosis : progres- 

 sive tenderness and stiffness of spine, distortion, localized exaltation or de- 

 pression of nervous function, osteoporosis, rachitis, caries, tubercle, melano- 

 ma, abscess, infectious disease. Treatment: Sling in narrow stall, good 

 food, pure air, sunshine, tonics, phosphates. 



As .seen in the htiman subject spinal caries is usually tubercular 

 and is known as ' ' PotV s disease. ' ' As seen in old horses it appears 

 to be rather a result of other infections, especially purulent, and 

 may have started in connection with traumatic or mechanical in- 

 juries to the bones and ligaments. In such cases I have seen it 

 repeatedly in hollow backed hor.ses in which the line of the .spine 

 descended abruptly and extremel}' from the withers and rose 

 again to the sacrum. The distortion was so great that the back 

 appeared as if it could barely sustain the weight of the animal 

 and yet the patients were kept at work and proved useful for 

 light driving. Post mortem examination showed extensive caries 

 and suppuration of the vertebral bodies, confined, however, to one 

 or two segments as if due to a mechanical lesion. In the region 

 of the loins it is much more likely to affect the articulations of 

 the vertebral rings, because of the manner in which the.se are 

 wedged into each other when the spine is pressed downward. 

 In the neck where the normal movement is so nuich freer such 

 injuries are much less common. Caries affecting the articular 

 surfaces of the axoido — atloid joint is by no means uncommon. 

 It may follow poll evil, or injuries stistained when a horse runs 

 against a wall, or in the fights of bulls or rams. Disease of the 

 vertebrce may be of the nature of rachitis occurring in this case 

 ife. 



In cattle the di.sease is liable to be tubercular in which ca.se, not 

 only is the bone invaded but the morl^id process extends to the 



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