236 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



the absorption of whatever fibrinous exudation may have formed, or 

 absorption may be stimulated by the careful and persevering applica- 

 tion of iodine in the form of ointments of various degrees of strength. 

 There are many conditions in which not only the muscular and ten- 

 dinous structures proper are affected by a strain, but, by contiguity of 

 parts, the periosteum of neighboring bones may become involved, 

 with a complication of periostitis and its sequelae. 



LAMENESS OF THE SHOULDER. 



The frequency of the occurence of lameness in the shoulder from 

 sprains entitles it to precedence of mention in the present category. 

 For, though so well covered with its muscular envelope, it is often 

 the seat of injuries which, from the complex structure of the region, 

 become difficult to diagnosticate with satisfactory precision and 

 facility. The flat bone which forms the skeleton of that region is 

 articulated in a comparatively loose manner with the bone of the arm, 

 but the joint is, notwithstanding, rather solid, and is powerfully 

 strengthened by tendons passing outside, inside, and in front of it. 

 Still, shoulder lameness or sprain may exist, originating in lacera- 

 tions of the muscles, the tendons or the ligaments of the joint, or 

 perhaps in diseases of the bones themselves. Slip of the shoulder is 

 a phrase frequently applied to such lesions. 



The identification of the particular structures involved in these 

 lesions is of much importance, in view of its bearing upon the ques- 

 tion of prognosis. For example, while a simple superficial injury of 

 the spinatus muscles, or of the muscles by which the leg is attached to 

 the trunk, may not be of serious import and may readily yield to 

 treatment, or even recover spontaneously and without interference, 

 the condition is quite changed when a case of tearing of the flexor 

 brachii, or of its tendons as they pass in front of the articulation, oc- 

 curs, or, what is still more serious, if there is inflammation or ulcera- 

 tion in the groove over which this tendon slides, or upon the articular 

 surfaces or their surroundings, or periostitis at any joint adjacent. 



Causes. The frequency of attacks of shoulder lameness is not 

 difficult to account for. The superficial and unprotected position of 

 the part, and the numerous movements of which it is capable, and 

 which in fact it performs, render it both subjectively and objectively 

 pre-eminently liable to accident or injury. It would be difficult, nor 

 would it materially avail, to enumerate all the forms of violence by 

 [which the shoulder may be crippled. A fall, accompanied by power- 

 ful concussion ; a violent muscular contraction in starting a heavily 

 loaded vehicle from a standstill ; a misstep following a quick muscu- 

 lar effort ; a jump accompanied by miscalculated results in alighting ; 

 a slip 'on a smooth, icy road ; balling the feet with snow ; colliding 

 with another horse or other object indeed, the list might be indef- 

 initely extended, but it would be without profit or utility. 



Symptoms. Some of the symptoms of shoulder lameness are 

 peculiar to themselves, and yet the trouble is frequently mistaken for 

 other affections navicular disease more often than any other. The 

 fact that in both affections there are instances when the external 

 symptoms are but imperfectly defined, and that one of them espe- 



