INJURIES TO SOFT TISSUES. 79 



(b) Injuries to Soft Tissues. 



1st. Lacerations of Muscles and their Annexes. — These are 

 the result of the distorted positions into which the extremities are 

 forced while undergoing operations. They may be discovered 

 immediately, or may be developed a few days after the operation. 

 Inflammation of the olecranean and pectoral muscles, of those of 

 the croup, and of the anterior part of the shoulder have been re- 

 ported. Bouley has seen a ruj)ture of the aponeurosis of the great 

 and of the small oblique muscle of the abdomen, and one rupture 

 of the flexor metatarsi. A case of laceration of the diaphragm is 

 recorded by Bouley, Jr. In one of our own patients, laceration of 

 the olecranean muscles was followed by such severe complications, 

 that it became necessary to destroy the patient. 



2d. Ruptures of the Viscera. — These are of rare occurrence, 

 being generally prevented by the precaution of refraining from 

 throwing the animal, until assured of an empty digestive canal by 

 previous fasting. Accidents, however, have been witnessed by 

 Gohier, who has noticed their occurrence upon the rectum near 

 the anus. This horse had drunk freely of water before being 

 cast. Bouley, Jr., has seen a case of rupture of the diaphragm. 

 Eey has known one of the heart, Schaak one of laceration of the 

 humeral artery, and even the giving way of the vena cava, in a case 

 of a nervous animal upon which means of restraint were being 

 applied to dress a small wound. The patient suddenly fell, and, 

 struggling violently, died ; and at the post-mortem the abdomen 

 was found full of blood, and the vein torn back of the kidneys. 



3d. Injuries to Nerves. — These are accompanied with loss of 

 power, usually temporary, but sometimes permanent. The posi- 

 tion in which it is sometimes necessary to fix an animal, as in the 

 diagonal, is that in which they are most likely to occur. The 

 symptoms of paralysis which are then manifested, betray them- 

 selves when the animal has just risen from the bed, when, upon 

 being called upon to move, the leg is discovered to be unable to 

 carry its weight, flexing upon its various bony levers, and render- 

 ing locomotion impossible. Sometimes these symj^toms are of 

 but short continuance, and disappear under the influence of strong 

 stimulating frictions. The leg was, according to the popular 

 phrase, "■asleep,'" because of a temporary arrest and sluggishness 

 of the circulation. But in other cases, the condition is brought 



