BONES 45 



molar teeth, was so affected that I have removed the latter with my 

 fingers and scraped off the diseased growth ; yet, although the bleed- 

 ing was excessive, the animal seemed to feel no pain. I have also 

 seen the under jaw in a similar condition to that of the upper. The 

 first appearance of the disease is a large swelling, which finally breaks 

 out with a dirty brown discharge and a rapid growth of spongy- 

 looking flesh. As little or no good can be done the animal had 

 better be destroyed. This disease may be, and often is, mistaken 

 for actinomycosis, which it very much resembles. 



79. Scrofulous or Tubercular disease of the bone is due to the 

 deposition of tubercular material in various parts of the bony struc- 

 ture. A number of cases in cows have come under my notice where 

 the tubercular deposit has been found in various parts of the spine, 

 causing a peculiar staggering gait, and the animal finally loses the 

 power of the hind-legs even when the tubercle has been found in the 

 neck bones. It follows certain strains of blood ; the animal suffering 

 will continue to live on, feed, and chew the cud, but finally it gets 

 so bad that it cannot get up, and has to be rolled from side to side 

 every five or six hours. The stifle, knee, and other joints suffer very 

 much from this disease, treatment as a rule being of little use. The 

 best remedy I have found is the injection of a dose of tuberculin 

 under the skin at the breast once a month ; this has at times a bene- 

 ficial action, and arrests the progress of the disease. 



80. Enchondroma is a cartilaginous growth or tumour upon a 

 bone, such as the sternum and ribs, seldom causing, however, any 

 constitutional disturbance ; when practicable this has to be removed 

 by a surgical operation; 



81. Fractures-— What is a fracture? Some define it as a 

 solution of continuity, which, I think, is not a good description. 

 My definition of a fracture is : 'A forcible separation of the cohesive 

 particles of a hard substance into two or more parts.' Now, the 

 bones of an animal are as liable to fracture as those of the human 

 subject. Formerly it was thought that the bones of a horse would 

 not mend ; yet this is not so, for they will unite more quickly than 

 those of the human frame, but we cannot place the patient in the 



