PANARITIUM — FELON — WHITLOW. 41 



Treatment consists in scrupulously removing all separated horn, so 

 as fully to expose the tissues attacked by the disease. The parts should 

 then be thoroughly disinfected with a liquid antiseptic, and a i^rotective 

 pressure dressing applied. 



As a rule, cauterisation with nitric acid, followed by applications of 

 tar or of mixtures of tannin and iodoform, iodoform and powdered burnt 

 alum, etc., effect healing, without such free use of the knife as has been 

 recommended in the horse during the last few years. 



GREASE. 



Grease in the ox seems only to have been described by Morot and 

 Cadeac, and even in these cases the descriptions appear rather to apply 

 to elephantiasis or fibrous thickening of the skin than to grease proper. 

 Tbe descriptions are not sufficiently clear, and the symptoms described 

 differ too much from the classical type seen in the horse to convince us 

 without further confirmation of the occurrence of the disease. 



PANARITIUM-FELON-WHITLOW. 



Any injury in the interdigital space or flexure of the pastern may, 

 under unfavourable circumstances, be complicated l)y death of the skin, 

 necrosis of the interdigital ligament, of the fibro-fatty cushion in the 

 flexure of the pastern, and of the terminal portions of the tendons. 



These lesions are sometimes regarded as panaritium. In reality, 

 they correspond exactly to what, in the horse, are known as "cracked 

 heels" and " quittor." The primary injury becomes infected with 

 organisms which rapidly cause death of the skin or the formation of a 

 deep-seated abscess and necrosis of the invaded tissues. 



Causation. Neglect of sanitary precautions and filthy stables con- 

 stitute favouring conditions, the feet being continually soiled and irritated 

 by the manure and urine. Animals reared on plains, and having broad, 

 flat, widely-separated claws, are more predisposed than animals from 

 mountainous regions, in which the interdigital ligament is stronger and 

 the separation of the claws less marked. Any injury, abrasion, or cut 

 may serve as a point of origin for such complications. 



Panaritium may even occur as an enzootic with all the characters 

 noted in isolated cases. In Germany it has received the name of "con- 

 tagious foot disease." These enzootic outbreaks of panaritium follow 

 epizootics of foot-and-mouth disease, with lesions about the claws. 

 Through the superficial aphthous lesions the parts become inoculated 

 with bacteria, and the severity of the resulting injury is in some 

 measure an indication of the virulence of the infecting organism. 



