106 FISTULA AND POLL-EVIL 



axis, the occipital crest, the occipito-atlantoid 

 articulation the atlanto-axoid ligament, the 

 spinal cord, the funicular portion of the liga- 

 mentum nuchse, the musculature, the blood sup- 

 ply, the anterior end of the sj)inal cord the 

 meninges, the medulla oblongata, the spinal ac- 

 cessory nerve, and the first two spinal nerves. 



The shin of the central line of the poll is 

 thick and inseparable from the thick pad of the 

 mane lying immediately beneath it. On the 

 sides of the mane it is thin, somewhat delicate 

 in texture, but possesses nothing out of the 

 ordinary to describe. On the sides, the borders 

 of the wing of the axis can be felt through it. 

 Elsewhere the outlines of the bones can be 

 palpated through it. In old cases of poll-evil 

 it is riddled with perforations and often it con- 

 tains scars of previous perforations. 



TJie pad of the mane at the poll is very 

 heavy especially in the draft breeds of horses, 

 often exceeding two inches in thickness. In the 

 lighter breeds as for example the thorough- 

 breds it is thin and in some subjects it does not 

 exist. The pad here like that at the base of 

 the neck is composed of elastic tissue and fat 

 matted into a very firm structure homogeneous 

 in appearance, and always very vascular. 



The atlas, or first cervical vertebra possesses 



