OPERATIONS. 553 



lip as shown hy the cut in Section XIV of this chapter. Insert the bis- 

 toury cache into the bladder, the oj^ening to which will be found on the 

 floor of the vagina, about three to six inches from the external orifice ; open 

 the neck of the bladder, and then, with one liandinthe rectum, the stone 

 can be drawn. 



In either case above described, dress the wounds with lotion No. 39, 

 twice a day. The wound in the skin of the horse can be sewed up. 

 When dressing the wound, rinse out the bladder with tepid water. 



X. Lithotrity. 



This is the name given to the process (mentioned in the last section) 

 of breaking the stone into small pieces with forceps, and taking it away 

 a little at a time. It is sometimes so large as to make it absolutely nec- 

 essary to do this, or, in some cases, even to saw it in two. 



XI. Neurotomy. 



This is an operation to destroy sensation in the foot, in some cases of 

 chronic, incurable lameness. Cast the horse, and, after clipping off the 

 hair over the spot to be operated on, cut in through the skin to the nerve 

 three or four inches above the fetlock, just back of the cannon, where it 

 will be found running in the same sheath with the artery and vein. The 

 last two, however, are deeper seated and together, the nerve running on 

 the top of them. Make the incision half or three quarters of an inch' 

 long, lengthwise of the leg ; dissect away the cellular tissue ; raise the 

 nerve, and pass a thread of silk around it, and tie a knot ; (if it is the 

 nerve that is tied, the horse will struggle violently from the pain, but if, 

 from accident or mistake, the artery or vein has been taken up instead, 

 there will be no pain, and consequently no struggle) ; sever the nerve 

 above the silk with a sharp knife ; then, cutting below the silk, take out 

 a section of the nerve about three qcarters of an inch long. Take a 

 stitch in the skin, and dress with Friar's balsam three times a dny. 



The foregoing is known as the high operation. If the lower operation 

 is preferred, the incision is made about midway down the long pastern 

 bone, on either side of it. The former is usually considered the bettei 

 one, as it takes away the sensation fi-om the entire foot, while the lower 

 only takes it away from the heels ; there are filaments from the anterior 

 branch of the nerve, extending down to the heels, which destroy the de- 

 sired effect, to a great extent. 



Neurotomy should never be performed except as a last resort ; for it 

 does not cure the disease, but only destroys the feeling in the i)art, so 

 that there is no more pain iu it. Although the horse hangs the foot 

 down as though it were sound, it is only a question of time for it to go 



