256 THE PRACTICl^: OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



Treatment. — Fomentations are to be freely used to reduce 

 the irritation, after which counter-irritants may be employed 

 beneficially ; setons in this trouble being the best form of 

 counter-irritant to use, being preferable to vesicants, as the 

 latter, when applied to ihe inner aspect of the joint, are 

 likely to set up an irritation which is very hard to allay. 

 The application of a high-heeled shoe is often productive of 

 considerable benefit. The animal should also be allowed to 

 rest until fully recovered. 



CAPPED ELBOW. 



Cai)ped elbow, or shoe boil, as it is often called, consists of 

 an enlargement on the point of the olecranon, due to injury 

 of some kind. Capped elbow is a very common condition. 

 It varies considerably in character, size, etc. 



Si/mjjtoms. — At first there is only a slight irritation, giving 

 rise to a slight exudate, causing more or less enlarge- 

 ment. In other cases there is considerable inflammation, 

 which terminates in an efl'usion of serum. In more aggra- 

 vated cases the eft used fluid solidifies and forms a fibrous 

 tumour on the point of the elbow, and in some cases 

 suppuration may take place. 



Causes. — The most common cause of this condition is the 

 elbow coming into contact with the shoe when the animal is 

 lying down, and even sometimes when the animal has no 

 shoes on, the condition may be produced by contact of the 

 elbow with the hoof or the ground. Capped elbow may 

 also be produced by the belly-band rubbing the elbow, as it 

 is likely to do when the animal is going down hill. The 

 condition is more readily produced in summer than at 

 any other time. It is not a serious condition by any means, 

 but is often troublesome, and interferes to a considerable 

 extent with the appearance of an animal. There is always 

 a bursa situated where a tendon passes over a bone, or 



