lameness: its causes and treatment. 349 



assurance of a favoialiU' result as if lu- luul l»et'!i sultjected to tho 

 most heroic secundum aitem doctorinir known t<j science. As a 

 case in point, mention may be ukuIc of the case of a prejj^nant hitdi 

 vhicli suffered a fracture of the ui)i)er end of the femur hy bein«; 

 run over by a li^ht wa^jon. Her "treatment" consisted in l)eing 

 tied up in a hirge hox and U't ahxie. In due time she was delivered 

 of a family of puppies, and in thrive weeks she was running; in th» 

 streets, limping \ery sJiLditly. and nothin<^ the woi*se for her 

 accident. 



FRACTURE OF THK PATELLA. 



Thi>, fortunately, is a rare acciilent, antl can result only from 

 direct violence, as a kick or other blow. The lameness which follows 

 it is accompanied with enormous tumefaction of the joint, i)ain, 

 inability to bear weight upon the foot, and finally disease of the 

 articulation. Crepitation is absent, because the hip muscles draw- 

 away the upper part of the bone. The prognosis is unavoidably 

 adverse, destruction being the only termination of this incurable 

 and very painful injury. Most of the reported cases of cur»'s are 

 based upon a wrong diagnosis. 



FRACTURES OF THE TIBIA. 



Of all fractures the-e are probably more frequently encountered 

 than ail}' others among the class of accidents we are con.sidering. As 

 with injuries of the forearm of a like character, they may be com- 

 ]>lete or incomplete; the former when the bone is broken in the 

 middle or at the e.xtremities, and transverse, oblique, or longitudinal. 

 The incomplete kind ni-e more common in this bone than in any 

 other. 



l^ymptoms. — Complete fractures are easy to recognize, either with 

 or without disjdacement. The animal is very lame, and the leg is 

 either dragged or held clear from the ground by flexion at the .stille, 

 while the lower part hangs down. Carrying weight or moving back- 

 ward is imjjo.ssible. There is excessive mobility below the fracture, 

 and woll-marked crei)itati()n. If there is much disi)lacement, as 

 in ;in obli(iue fracture, therr will be considerable shortening of 

 the leg. 



A\'hile incomi)lete fractuies can not l)o recognized in the tibia 

 with any greater degree of certainty than in any other bone, there are 

 some facts as.sociated with them by which a diagnosis may be justi- 

 fied. The hypothetical history of a case may serve as an illustiation : 



An animal has received an injury l)V a blow or a kick on the inside 

 of the bone, juM-haps without showing any mark. Becoming very 

 lame innnediately afterwards, he is allowed a few days' rest. If 

 taken out again, he seems to have recovered his soundne.ss, but w ithin 



