DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMAL*. 117 



ligament is punctured or injured, and not done in a violent manner, 

 there is not very severe suffering for some timie, but the synovia 

 escapes and the air gets into the wound, sets up irritation, and then 

 the animal suffers greatly. At first the discharge is pure synovia — if 

 injured in a mild manner— but a change soon takes place ; in one or two 

 days there is active inflammation, and the nature of the disease alters, 

 there is more or less pus, and in three or four days the integrity of the 

 joint is somewhat destroyed, the cartilages become destroyed, and in a 

 severe case partial or complete anchylosis is the result, and necrosis of 

 the joint may occur. The tissues also become implicated, and tumefac- 

 tion in many cases comes and extends around the joint, and the pus is 

 sometimes mixed with red streaks, giving it a kind of muddy appearance, 

 showing that the cartilage is destroyed. The pus is fetid also, the bones 

 become carious or ulcerated, matter is thrown out, and anchylosis is the 

 result. Sometimes the appetite is gone, the pulse quick, there is intense 

 fever, sweats bedew the body, there is great emaciation, and death may 

 result in from two to six days ; or the surrounding tissues become 

 infiltrated with pus, and extensive sloughing follows, or there are sinuses 

 formed, etc., and the case is hopeless. This occurs especially in the hock 

 joint, but if you are called in the early stage, while the discharge is pure 

 synovia, no great fever, the wound made with a sharp instrument, and 

 the tissues not lacerated, it stands pretty good chances of recovery. 



Treatment. — Endeavour to promote the healing of the wound, and if of 

 any size, insert a suture. Some bind with collodium, which excludes the 

 air, keeps the wound together and prevents the discharge ; or, take a 

 small piece of cotton and saturate with one part of carbolic acid to eight, 

 nine or ten of lard ; apply it over the wound, and keep it there by means 

 of a bandage. Bandage, foment, and attend to the constitutional treat- 

 ment. Keep as quiet as possible, and sometimes give a moderate dose of 

 purgative medicine. It may heal by the first intention, or almost heal, 

 then break, and synovia be discharged and prove fatal. Do not attempt 

 to explore a wound of this kind. If it is a later stage, and pus is formed, 

 it would not do to stitch it up and thus prev^ent the escape of it, but keep 

 quiet and place in slings, after the animal has become tired. It is some- 

 times good practice to use splints, if in the knee joint, to keep the limb 

 as straight as possible ; and in fomenting be careful not to wash or wipe 

 away any coagulum that may have formed. Poultice ; and the poultice I 

 recommend is : equal parts of flour and oatmeal — the flour tends to 

 coagulation, and the meal soothes Granulations spring up, and are 

 sometimes not bad signs ; but if they are too profuse, you can use 

 caustics, or the ordinary lotion, but do not use any irritant dressings, nor 

 inject the wound. Some recommend blisters in the early stage, others do 

 not. They are recommended for various reasons — to produce stiffness in 

 the joint, or to arrest the discharge, etc. — and in a case of some standing 

 they may be of benefit If it occurs in the knee or hock joint, to any 

 extent, you may expect anchylosis. If the pulse is full and bounding, 

 you may use arterial sedatives — aconite, in ten drop doses, every four or 

 five hours, for two or three days. 



Bruises of the Knee. — Although they look very formidable, are very 

 trivial in comparison with open joint, and you may mistake the flow of 

 the bursal fluid for open joint. Cleanse with cold water, bring the edges 

 of the wound together and secure them; keep quiet and subdue the 

 inflammatory action ; use the ordinary white lotion, etc. Sometimes the 

 hair bulbs are injured, and the growth of the hair is white, or even no 

 hair at all is produced, and if the hair bulbs are destroyed, then hair can, 

 not be reproduced ; but so long as they are not destroyed it will grow- 



