DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE. AND FOOT. 449 



C'oirhplkatiotis. — Coinplicutions coucuiieiit with or .supeivcninjjf 

 upon lainiiiitis aiv fie(iuciit aiul varied, and are often dei>endent 

 upon causes not fully understood. 



Ku'cenfrirc punjufio/i is one t)f the sinij)lest of these, and not usually 

 nttonded with dangerous conse(juences. It rarely occurs unless in- 

 duced by a pui «j::itive, and the excessive action of the medicine is 

 probably to be explained upon the theory that the nnicous membrane 

 sympathizes with the disea.sed laminie, is irritable, and readily be- 

 comes overexcited. The dischar*;es are thin and watery, sometimes 

 offensively odorous, and occasionally persist in spite of treatment. 

 It may prove disastrous to the welfare of the patient by the raj)id 

 exhaustion which it causes, prevent injr resolution of the lammitis, 

 ;:nd may even cauhc death. 



ScptiveiMa and pi/einia. — Septicemia and pyemia are iniusual com- 

 plications and are seen only in the most severe cases in which bed 

 sores are present or suppuration of the lamiiue results. They die, jis 

 a rule, within three days after showin<j^ sipis of the complication. 



Pnciuii/mia — the so-called metastatic — nei ds no sj)ecial considera- 

 tion, for in its lesions and symptoms it does not differ from ordinary 

 pneumonia, although it may be overlooked entirely by the practi- 

 tioner. Examinations of the chest should be made every day, so as 

 to detect the di.sease at its onset and render proper aid. 



Sideh&iies. — A rapid development of sidebones is one of the com- 

 pliciitions, or, i^eihajjs better, a secpiel of laminitis not often met witli 

 in practice. Here the inflammatory process extends to the hiteral 

 caililages, Avith a strong tendency to calcification. The deposition 

 of the lime salts is sometimes most rapid, so that the "bones" are 

 developed in a few weeks; in other instances they are deposited 

 slowly and their growth is not noted imtil long after the subsidence 

 < f the laminitis, so that the exciting cause is not suspected. This 

 change in the cartilages may commence as early jus the first of the 

 laminitis: and although the trouble in the lamina' is removed in the 

 course of a fortnight the symptoms do not entirely subside, tlie 

 animal retains the shuflling gait, the sidebones continue to grow, and 

 the patient usually irmains <|uite lame. This alteration of tin* 

 cartilages generally pievents the patient from recovering his naturnl 

 gait, and the |)ractiti(»ner receives unjust censure for a condition of 

 affairs he could neither foresee nor prevent. 



The laminitic process occasionally extends to the covering of the 

 coronet bone, or at loa.st concurrent with antl subse<|uent to laminitis 

 the development of " low ringbone " is seen, and it is apparently 

 dependent upon the disease of the lamina* for its exciting c.uise. The 

 impairment (»f function and consequent symptoms nre much less 

 marked heiv than in sidebones. The coronet i-emains hot and .sensi- 

 .^6444°— 10 29 



