DISEASES OF CATTLE. 923 



none of these will answer, use nitric acid and water, equal parts 

 at first, gradually using more acid and less water until it does 

 do the work. After the proud flesh is subdued, treat as an or- 

 dinary wound. 



Fractures. This means broken bones ; and such accidents 

 are very common in all domestic animals. There are several 

 varieties of fractures, as simple, compound, comminuted, and 

 complicated. A simple fracture is one in which the bone alone 

 is broken, the muscles and skin not being cut through. A com- 

 pound is one in which the bone is broken, and the muscles and 

 skin at the same time cut through. A comminuted is one in which 

 the bone is shattered to pieces. A complicated is one in which 

 there is some large vessel, nerve, or joint injured, as well as a 

 bone broken. 



The bones of the lower animals will unite quite as readily 

 as those of man if the broken ends can be kept still, and in their 

 proper position. 



Fractures also receive distinctive names from the manner in 

 which the bones are broken, as transverse, in which the bone is 

 broken square across ; oblique, in which the bone is broken across 

 in an oblique angle ; longitudinal, in which the bone is split, as 

 it were. The first named is the most easily treated successfully; 

 the second is very difficult to treat, as the ends of the bones 

 tend to pass each other ; and the last is usually most difficult 

 to treat with entire success, for it usually extends into a joint, 

 and in this way causes a stiffening of the joint. 



Fractures generally occur from some injury, but they may 

 occur from very severe muscular exertion, as sometimes occurs 

 in throwing an animal. Sometimes a bone is fractured and still 

 retains its position, and it may or may not be displaced after 

 the injury. 



SYMPTOMS. Sometimes the ends of the bone pass each other, 

 or penetrate the tissues, until the trouble is very apparent to 

 any beholder. But when these signs are absent, a kind of 

 grating sensation can often be felt by placing the fingers on the 

 parts, and then moving the limb; or, by placing the ear to 

 the parts this grating noise can be heard, when the limb is 



