BONES 47 



action. Sometimes, instead of the ends of the bones uniting, they 

 become covered with cartilage, and form what is termed a false 

 joint ; when this is the case it is best to have the animal destroyed. 



83. Fractures are of six kinds, viz. : 



4. Complicated. 



5. Green Stick. 



6. Impacted. 



1. Simple. 



2. Compound. 



3. Compound Comminuted. 



84. Simple Fracture is when the bone is simply broken with- 

 out much injury to the flesh — a fracture only into two parts, and 

 without any external wound. 



85. Compound Fracture is where the bone has been broken 

 in an oblique manner, and the sharp ends, pointing up and down, 

 cut through the flesh and skin, and make an external wound. In 

 the horse this is difficult to deal with, and the most humane course 

 is to have the animal destroyed. 



86. Compound Comminuted Fracture is where the bone is 

 broken or crushed into a great many pieces and the connecting 

 tissues implicated. Little or no good can be done in these cases. 



87. Complicated Fractures are where the fracture extends 

 into a joint, or wounds important organs, bloodvessels, etc. 



88. Green Stick Fracture is a partial or deferred fracture, 

 where only part of the bone is partially broken (cracked). It is an 

 incomplete fracture, in which one portion is broken, while the other 

 holds together. 



89. Impacted Fracture is the jamming or driving in of one 

 fragment of bone into the other, without movement or crepitation. 



90. All the bones of the body are subject to fractures. When 

 we had the old horse-thrashing machines, injuries to the bones of 

 the head were not uncommon. In pit horses, too, I have seen the 

 frontal and nasal bones delved in, and occasionally had to use the 

 trephine tc remove a piece of bone so as to get into the cavities and 

 liberate the collected blood or effusion. The lower jaw also some- 



