42 THE SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE HORSE 



The two remaining angles are the antero-superior and postero- 

 superior, or cervical and dorsal, the latter being the more tuberous and 

 prominent. 



It will readily be understood from the brief description we have given 

 that the tubercle of the spine and the coracoid process, being the most 

 exposed parts of the bone, are the parts most commonly fractured. The 

 body of the bone is well protected, and is rarely fractured. Cases are 

 occasionally met with in colliery ponies where the whole bone is com- 

 pletely smashed through the fall of a roof, but these are cases where the 

 risks to which the animals are subjected are extraordinary. Cases are 

 met with in which the fracture is through the glenoid cavity, such 

 cases being the result of a severe blow received on the front of the joint, 

 and the head of the humerus being, in consequence, forcibly driven 

 backwards into the glenoid cavity. Fracture of the tubercle of the spine 

 is usually the result of a blow received over the part. The coracoid 

 process is most frequently fractured as a result of its being caught in a 

 doorway or gateway. This is most commonly met with in young 

 animals, in which the process is more easily broken off owing to its 

 ossification to the rest of the bone being less firm. The cervical and 

 dorsal angles are at times fractured, and in rare cases the bone is 

 broken across the constricted portion mentioned, above the inferior 

 angle. 



Fracture through the tubercle of the spine or the cervical or dorsal 

 angle is not very serious, and yields readily to treatment. Palpation 

 enables diagnosis to be positive, since the fractured piece can easily be 

 felt, particularly if the case is seen before much swelling of the parts has 

 occurred. If displaced, the fractured pieces should be worked back into 

 position, and the part subsequently kept as still as possible. A pitch 

 plaster or charge is very effective in some cases in maintaining the replaced 

 pieces in position. Another method is to apply strips of adhesive 

 strapping. When the coracoid process is fractured, displacement usually 

 occurs in the downward direction. The condition is readily diagnosed : 



