236 SHOULDER LAMENESS. 



which horses, give them time, somehow or other are found to 

 recover, or, at all events, one which they never die of, or are put 

 to death for, we get, in point of fact, little or no opportunity of exa- 

 mining into the state of parts supposed to be diseased ; though, we 

 may add, that such facts — and they are mostly of foreign growth 

 — as stand on record shew the shoulder-joint, if not the bursa, to 

 be the seat of disease. 



The French veterinarians call shoulder lameness ecart, 

 because they say it has the effect of causing the horse " ecarter le 

 membre du thorax." And Barthelemy — one of their best authori- 

 ties — asserts that the scapulo-humeral articulation, with its capsu- 

 lar ligament and investing muscles and tendons, is the seat of 

 the lameness. 



De Nanzio, Director of the Veterinary School of Naples, was 

 of opinion, likewise, that the shoulder-joint was in fault, and for 

 that reason recommended his operation, as performed for hip-joint 

 lameness, as applicable in this case. 



M. LeblanC, our professional friend and associate, for whose 

 opinion we entertain the highest respect, has informed us — in The 

 Veterinarian, vol. x — that " old lamenesses arising from lesions 

 of the superior divisions of the extremities are oftenest to be attri- 

 buted to diseases of the articulations, and more especially to dis- 

 tention of the capsular ligaments." — " The capsular ligament of the 

 shoulder-joint loses its natural aspect; is in some parts diminished 

 in thickness, while in others it is increased in substance ; its inter- 

 fibrillary cellular texture is indurated ; the tendinous fibres are no 

 longer distinct ; the surrounding mass has assumed a variable 

 colour — oftenest a yellow tinge mingled with red points; the neigh- 

 bouring cellular tissue is likewise sometimes indurated, at other 

 times osseous." — " The synovial capsule and the synovial fringes 

 {glandulcB Haversii) are always diseased — thickened, and of a min- 

 gled yellow, black, and red colour. The synovia Is thicker than 

 in health, and of a deeper colour. The articular cartilages are 

 diminished in thickness ; sometimes they are abraded in various 

 places where they have a yellow hue. The ends of the bones are 

 sometimes deformed and out of their places, displaying false articu- 

 lation. Finally, the muscular tissue surrounding the shoulder- 



