DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 83 



as an animal advances in life. As an animal becomes older, the bone 

 loses the animal, or organic matter, to a certain extent, and has too 

 much earthy or morganic salts. But this may occur in an earlier 

 period of life. Where a fatty matter is developed, instead of a car- 

 tilaginous basis, or there is fatty degeneration in anchylosis of the 

 vertebra, this condition is present. After performing neurotomy in 

 navicular disease, fracture may occur from this condition, the animal 

 using the limb more after the operation, as there is no pain. Bat it 

 may come from something that interferes with the proper nutrition 

 of the bone, sometimes associated with the vertebral column, and is 

 called softening of the vertebra. If an animal is affected with the 

 spavin, and is stiff in the back, there is, perhaps, anchylosis, due to 

 this condition of the system, and in such cases it is not best to cast an 

 animal, for you may fracture the vertebra. I had one case of this 

 kind. The animal is unthrifty, tucked up in the belly, etc. If you 

 meet with a horse, say twelve years old, with a stifif back and a spavin, 

 tucked up in the belly, as if in extreme pain from systematic affec- 

 tion, nothing can be done for it. 



Mollilies Ossiiim is just the opposite, and is present in rickets to 

 a certain extent, but a change takes place differing from rickets in 

 certain cases. 



Enchondroma, a cartilaginous growth upon a bone, or more fre- 

 quently met with on the ribs and sternum. It may gain a great size 

 and the animal be in good condition. It may occur in the stifle joint, 

 and the result of some irritation ; but it generally comes from some 

 constitutional disturbance. It may occur in the hands and fingers to 

 such an extent that the person can hardly raise the hand. More 

 likely to occur in cattle. Judicious counter-irritation may remove 

 these deposits to a considerable extent. These tumours are composed 

 of the elements of cartilage — cartilaginous cells. There is seldom any 

 ulceration, and it does not seem to affect the animal to any great 

 extent. It possibly involves the bones of the head, but more likely 

 the ribs and sternum. 



FKACTURE. 



Fracture is a solution of continuity of bone, and it is common in 

 all domestic animals. There are several varieties of fracture, called 

 simple, compound, comminuted and complicated. 



Simple is that in which a bone is broken, and the muscles and skin 

 not much injured, and is the most desirable. 



Compound, in which the bones enter the muscles and perhaps pass 

 through the skin, and is a pretty severe fracture. 



Commui'ited, in which the bone is broken and shattered. 



Complicated, in which an important vessel or an articulation is 

 injured. 



Some imagine that the bones of the horse will not unite as quickly 

 as the bones of a man. But I think they will unite more quickly, the 

 great difficulty being in keeping the animal quiet, and the bones in the 

 proper position. And you must restore the animal so as to be of 

 value. In the human being the limb is frequently considerably 

 altered in condition. If such would occur in a horse, it would depre- 

 ciate his value to a great extent. Fractures occur in different ways, 

 and receive various names, according to the way in which the frac- 

 ture occurs— transverse, oblique, and longitudinal — and it is astonish- 

 ing how easily they will occur in some cases ; and in other cases an 

 animal may receive a great injury and fracture not occur. They 



