WOUNDS OF JOINTS 535 



Treatment. — In a true or comj^lete dislocation no time should be lost in 

 placing the patient under the influence of chloroform, so as to completely 

 relax the muscles. There is no objection to . casting him with hobbles 

 previous to administering the anaesthetic, as the only accident likely to 

 happen is reduction of the dislocation itself. When sufficiently under its 

 influence the hobble on the affected leg should be undone, the toe drawn 

 forcibly forward by an assistant while the operator by manual pressure 

 induces the patella to pass over the eminence and into its trochlea. It can 

 be seen, felt, and heard as a i^ule to go into its place. Great care should be 

 exercised in letting the animal get up again lest luxation occur again in the 

 act of rising. The hobbles should be noiselessly removed, and the patient 

 allowed to remain on the ground as long as he likes. When the attendants 

 see that he is detei-mined to rise, the affected stifle and leg should be 

 pressed upon dui-ing the act. As soon as he has gained his feet a smart 

 blister should be applied, covering plenty of space, as the greater the 

 tumefaction the better ; the effusion under the skin and around the joint 

 acts as a cushion and a support, while the soreness induced will restrain 

 the patient from undue exertion of a part requiring repose. 



The introduction of a long seton has a somewhat similar effect and is 

 in favour with a good many country practitioners, whose familiarity with 

 the accidents of colthood should make their opinion valuable. 



WOUNDS OF JOINTS 



The knee is the joint most frequently suffering from wound, as in the 

 majority of falls it is the part brought in contact with the tToiuid. 

 Whether the joint itself is injured, or only the skin, the accident is called a 

 "broken knee," and for convenience' sake it will be well to consider botn 

 under the present head. 



When a broken knee consists merely in an abrasion of the skin, th.e 

 attention of the groom is solely directed to the restoration of the liau- 

 which will grow again as well as ever, if the bulbs or roots are not injured. 

 These are situated in the internal layer of the true skin, and therefore, 

 whenever thei-e is a smooth red surface displayed, without any difference m 

 the texture of its parts, a confident hope may be expressed that there v/ill 

 be no blemish. If the skin is penetrated, either the glistening surface of 

 the tendons or ligaments is apparent, or there is a soft layer of cellular 

 membrane, generally containing a fatty cell or two in the middle of the 

 wound of the skin. Between a simple abrasion, wounded tendons, and oneJi 

 joint, there is so wide a difference that all sorts of treatment may be 

 required. 



In all injuries to the knee, the general rule may be laid down to reduce 

 inflammatory action, as far as possible by fomentation and poultices, in the 

 first instance, as the case is from the first, and by its cause, removed from the 

 categoiy of wounds to be treated antiseptically or by dry processes. There 

 is generally so much bruising of the tissues adjacent, that the final mobility 

 of the knee and usefulness of the horse depends upon early relief and 

 preventing the formation of adventitious material as a result of continued 

 inflammatory action. Nor is it an objection that increased swelling results? 



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