INJURIES OF THE JOINTS 



351 



the tension in the straight ligaments and extensors, and the patella may 

 be easily shoved into position. If the animal is then kept quiet for 

 several days, as a rule, no after-treatment is required. If the disloca- 

 tion of the patella is old, treatment is useless. 



Stockfleth has used a dressing in this disease which he describes as 

 follows : 



He attached a broad linen bandage around the tibia, and fastened 

 a wide girth around the abdomen, and a breast-piece to prevent it from 

 slipping backward. The bandage w^as then fastened to the tibia, close 

 to the girth around the abdomen. The affected leg was then pulled up 

 close to the abdomen, so that the animal must stand on three legs. The 

 dressing remained on for twenty days, and when it was removed the 



Fig. 113. — Dog with dislocation of the hip. 



animal was entirely cured. In another case he had a double-sided 

 dislocation of the knee. After returning the patellie to their position, 

 the knee- and ankle-joint were covered with thick wadding, and a capsule 

 of gutta-percha, which had previously been soaked in hot water, was 

 applied to each leg, surrounding the leg from the knee to the toes. In 

 order to prevent l^ending of the gutta-percha, before it was sufficiently 

 hardened, a wooden support was fastened to the outside. The dog, 

 which had formerly crept upon its hind legs, walked upright as if on 

 stilts. The dressing was left on the animal for two weeks, and on 

 removal of the dressing the dislocation did not recur. 



External Dislocation of the Patella.— This accident is very rare. 

 Stockfleth saw Init one chronic case in both legs in a small dog. The 

 subject was lively, walked rapidly, but had very flexed ankle-joints, 

 giving him very much the appearance of a weasel. The tarsus appeared 

 thick and uneven; the patella, which was located in the muscles of the 



