54 DISEASES OF THE SYNOVIAL MEMBRANES AND ARTICULATIONS. 



Treatment, when applicable, should consist of stimulant dressings, 

 massage, and douches. 



STRAIN OF THE FETLOCK. 



This is one of the commonest accidents of draught oxen. 



Causation. Working on rough, irregular, rocky ground, or on roads 

 with deep ruts, is the commonest cause of this condition. When the 

 animal moves on irregular surfaces the two claws do not bear an equal 

 share of w^eight ; sometimes the whole weight is for a moment throw^n 

 on one claw. 



The phalanges, therefore, are displaced inwards or outwards, or are 

 twisted around their vertical axis, causing the fetlock joint and its sup- 

 porting ligaments to be more or less severely strained. The internal or 

 external ligaments of the joint or the suspensory ligament or flexor 

 tendons may even be lacerated. 



The fetlock may also be strained by the animal making violent efforts 

 to free the claws or pastern which have become fixed in a hole in the 

 ground, in bogging, in hobbling, or in leaping a fence. 



Symptoms. Lameness is noticeable from the beginning, but is 

 unaccompanied by any visible lesion. On examination of the limb, the 

 entire region from the fetlock downw^ards is found to be sensitive to 

 pressure, and painful when forcibly extended or flexed from side lo 

 side. This sensitiveness is particularly marked when the phalanges are 

 rotated on the shank. A few days later the entire fetlock becomes the 

 seat of diffused swelling. 



Diagnosis is facilitated by the fact that the fetlock has an entirely 

 different appearance from that seen when tendon sheaths or the synovial 

 capsules of joints are distended. 



Prognosis. The prognosis varies considerably, according to the extent 

 to which deep-seated structures are involved, and the gravity of the 

 lesions is usually proportioned to the intensity of the symptoms. 



Treatment. Frequent cold applications, cold foot baths for an hour 

 or two night and morning, and even cold poultices are useful. When 

 the pain has somewhat diminished, which usually occurs in from three 

 to four days, vesicants may be employed, and, at a later stage, massage. 

 Failing improvement by these methods, the injured 'region may be fired 

 in points. 



Strain of the hind fetlock occurs under precisely similar conditions to 

 those above described in the case of front limbs. 



STRAIN OF THE STIFLE JOINT. 



Strain of the stifle joint results from over-extension of ligaments 

 without displacement of the patella, and also (and 'probably more 



