KNEE JOINT LAMENESS. 249 



'' Of the Morbid Condition of the Joint, either 



" 1. Simple inflammation of the ligaments of the joint ; 



"2. Simple inflammation of the synovial membrane; 



"3. Inflammation followed by deposit of osseous matter con- 

 solidating or obliterating one or more of the lower joints of the 

 carpus ; 



" 4. Inflammation extending to the articular cartilage or body of 

 the bone or bones terminating in ulcerative absorption, accompanied 

 with deposit of osseous matter around the diseased portion ; 



"5. Ulceration, absorption of synovial membrane, articular carti- 

 lage, and body of the bone, either together or separately, and pro- 

 gressing insidiously without shewing any very marked symptoms 

 of the diseased state of the joint, and which state is considered to 

 exist without the presence of inflammation ; 



" 6. Combinations of the above. 



" I have placed under the foregoing heads the different morbid 

 conditions in which I have found the parts constituting the knee 

 joint. 



" The first and most simple I believe to be inflammation of the 

 ligaments, and the one which perhaps the most frequently occurs : 

 it is the result of either sudden injury, or most generally from 

 over-exertion too long continued or too often repeated. Should 

 this be overlooked, or not yield to treatment, from its oft recur- 

 rence, it will extend to the periosteum, and produce consolidation 

 of one or more of the lower joints of the carpus, with or without a 

 deposit of osseous matter externally. 



*' The inflammation of synovial membrane will generally be 

 present with the foregoing state ; but it may exist alone, in which 

 case it is often a result of external injury, such as bruises on the 

 front of the knee or from speedy-cutting. In the more advanced 

 stages of disease the synovial membrane and the ligaments are 

 both affected ; and, as disease progresses, we find that the one is 

 destroyed by ulcerative absorption, and the other absorbed and 

 replaced by osseous matter : still advancing, we find that the 

 articular cartilage is partaking of disease, the ulcerative absorption 

 extends to it, and proceeds to the body of the bone itself, ending 

 in caries. 



VOL. IV. K k 



