THE WITHERS 15 



lar cartilage, (cartilage of prolongation) lat- 

 erally. With these boundaries as a point of 

 departure, each structure comprising the with- 

 ers might be studied per se, but from the sur- 

 gical point of view its study en masse is of first 

 importance. 



Component Parts 



The withers are composed of skin, fascia, 

 muscles, ligaments, cartilage, bones, blood ves- 

 sels, lymphatics and nerves. These are com- 

 bined in a very complex and exceedingly disad- 

 vantageous manner, since in situ they form a 

 pyramid whose base is loosely arranged while 

 the summit is dense. The summit of the with- 

 ers, under the skin, is composed of hard liga- 

 mentous structures fixed firmly to the underly- 

 ing bones. From this point, the layers of which 

 the region is constituted separate from each 

 other in the downward direction, permitting 

 thereby a ready filtration of pus into constant- 

 ly deeper and more inaccessible fortresses, and 

 constituting a favorable field for the fruitful 

 development and undisturbed sojourn of in- 

 flammatory processes of a chronic character. 

 The base of the pyramid is bounded laterally 

 and ventrally by bones (the scapula and bodies 

 of the dorsal vertebra) while anteriorly and 

 posteriorly its component structures extend 



