OPEN-JOINT. :]0 [ 



results are most likely to occur in open-joint of the hock, 

 and such a case is hopeless. 



Treatment. — The successful treatment of open-joint is a 

 matter of great difficulty : there is no specific for it. It is 

 very essential that the joint be kept in as motionless a state 

 as possible, as every movement aggravates and increases the 

 inflammation of the parts, which are already inflamed to a 

 degree almost unbearable. The patient also should be kept 

 as quiet as possible — sightseers, curiosity seekers, and every- 

 thing tending to excite the animal or disturb his quietude, 

 should be rigidly excluded. The patient should be tied up 

 short in a stall or loose-box, or in some cases it is of great 

 advantage to place him in slings ; if an irritable animal, he 

 should be allowed to tire himself to a certain extent before 

 being slung. Open-joint causes great irritation and inflam- 

 mation in the tissues around the joint ; particularly is this 

 true in the case of the hock-joint. If the animal is restless, 

 has a quick pulse, and there is great heat and pain in the 

 part, fomentations may be used, and opium administered in 

 the usual quantities, to allay the pain and irritation. The 

 practitioner should be careful about probing wounds in the 

 neighbourhood of joints, as open-joint may thus be produced 

 when it did not at first exist. To stop the flow of synovia, a 

 piece of lint saturated with one of the bland oils may be ap- 

 plied to the wound : this, as it were, forms a nucleus around 

 which the discharge gathers, and leads to the formation of 

 a scab ; or the parts may be painted M'ith collodion, and a 

 Derby bandage applied, not too tightly ; and in cases where 

 everything is favourable the wound may heal in a day or 

 two. Plaster of Paris, flour, etc., have been recommended 

 to arrest the flow of synovia, and are applied by dusting on 

 the wound. In some cases a blister is of great benefit, as 

 it causes swelling, and consequent closure of the wound. A 

 poultice, when considered necessary, may be applied, sooth- 



