326 OPERATIONS ON MUSCLES AND THEIR ANNEXES. 



process, which is not needed for the result of the operation, and 

 exposes the animal to a complication of inflammation of the 

 synovial bursae which ought to be avoided. To obviate these 

 dangers, Dieckerhoff is of the opinion that the division of the 

 bursa is all that is required, and states that he has often secured 

 good results, from that alone, without the section of the tendon. 

 Besides this mode of operating, which may be called the 02)en 

 incision, there is another procedure by subcutaneous division, 

 which is also recommended by some, but the difficulty of discover- 

 ing the tendon in its bony groove, and in reaching it properly, and 

 the possible complication of subsequent inflammation of the bursse, 

 will probably secure the preference for the method by open incis- 

 ion. The operation is completed by closing the wound with a 

 stitch of suture, and protecting it with antiseptic dressings. The 

 results of the operation are sometimes immediate, though in some 

 cases not apparent for a few days, but if after the lapse of two or 

 three weeks the lameness has not either disappeared or greatly 

 abated, it may be safely concluded that it is attributable to some 

 cause other than the pressure of the tendon. 



{b.) Peroneo- Phalangeal Tenotomy. — Though the true 

 pathology of the peculiar afi'ection of the hock joint known as 

 springhalt, and the cause that excites the spasmodic action 

 characterizing it, are far from being satisfactorily known, it has 

 been observed that in animals thus afiected the tendons of the ex- 

 tensors of the foot in front of the hock have a tense or rigid 

 character, which renders them unusually prominent ; and it is this 

 symptom which suggested to Brocar, a Belgian veterinarian, the 

 division of the tendon of the lateral extensor of the phalanges, or 

 peroneo-phalangeal muscle, as a means of cure. Brocar, Brogniez, 

 and Delwart performed it, and have recorded their success in 

 numerous cases. 



The lateral extensor of the phalanges terminates inferiorly by a 

 round tendon, which passes into the groove situated on the out- 

 side of the lower extremity of the tibia, in a sheath formed at the 

 expense of the superficial external ligament of the tibio- tarsal 

 joint. In this sheath it bends forward and downward to join the 

 tendon of the anterior extensor toward the middle of the metatar- 

 sus, which it crosses downward, forward and inward. 



The operation is of the simplest nature, and may be j)erformed 

 with great facility. The animal being cast, and the section com- 



