244 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



the case of many Russian, Hungarian, and Andalusian horses, or those 

 of certain studs. 



Diseases and Blemishes. — The diseases of the thigh and the buttock 

 consist in general of wounds, abscesses, and blood tutnoi-s, whicli are the result of 

 blows, knocks, falls, or other purely accidental causes. There is, nevertheless, an 

 important one for which we should keep a sharp watch ; this is an inflamviation 

 of the lytnphatic vessels on the flat of the thigh. An examination of the course 

 of these vessels reveals a hard, cylindrical, sometimes bosselated, cord, painful or 

 painless to the touch, and of variable volume, which goes right up to the inguinal 

 lymjAatic glands in the groin. This elongated tumor, known under the name 

 of corded lymphatics, is very often the symptom of glanders-farcy, and, for this 

 reason, its existence is an ugly symptom. In other cases this condition is the 

 consequence of diseases of the foot or of the inferior regions of the member. 

 Whatever its cause may be, its presence always demands a most searching 

 examination of the part by those who jjropose purchasing the animal. 



Let us also indicate the varix and thrombosis of the superior part of the 

 saphena vein, comjjaratively insignificant though they be, and, finally, the more or 

 less numerous wounds and cicatrices wliich are the result of the cuts of the whip 

 ai)plied to this region. 



The thigh is a favorite spot, even as the breast, the axilla, the ribs, the sides 

 of the neck, etc., for the application of setons. Traces of these indicate that the 

 horse has been affected with chronic diseases of the foot, such as grease, canker, 

 etc., or that these issues have been employed as counter-irritants against grave 

 alterations of the encephalon or the spinal cord. Not infrequently, either, the 

 external surface of the thigh shows marks of cautery in the vicinity of the coxo- 

 femoral articulation. These reveal former cases of lameness where the seat of 

 the malady has remained unascertained and all other methods of treatment have 

 proved ineffectual. Their presence demands a minute examination of all the 

 inferior regions of the member, even of the hoof. Many are the chances of 

 locating the true cause of the lameness in those parts. 



B.— The Stifle. 



Situation ; Limits ; Anatomical Base. — The stifle corre- 

 sponds to the femoro-patellar articulation, and is comprised between 

 the inferior extremity of the thigh and the superior part of the leg. 



Externally, its outline represents two rounded, unequal eminences, one above 

 the other. The upper, more voluminous, and due to the anterior crural muscles, 

 overhangs the lower, which is smaller, and is caused by the patella. Below the 

 latter there exists a slight depression corresponding to the patellar ligaments and 

 the patellar adipose cushion. Finally, the cutaneous fold, known under the name 

 of fold of the stifle, extends from the superior prominence of which we have 

 spoken to the surface of the flank in the direction of the hypochondriac region. 



The stifle, in relation to its conformation, offers neither special 

 points nor defects for consideration. It is important, above all, that 

 its essential parts can bo distinctly outlined. Its distance from the 



