SPECIAL INJURIES OF BONES. 339 



heat exists and pain on pinching, your suspicions are confirmed. 

 In old bad cases the stay ligament and lower half of the tendons 

 are greatly thickened throughout and the knee kept constantly 

 bent, sometimes to the extent of causing the patient to walk on 

 the front of the hoof. In other cases the cords are knotted, 

 hard and wanting in suppleness, showing calcification of their 

 substance. 



Treatment. — In the early stages of severe cases, rest, shorten 

 the toe, apply a high-heeled shoe, and apply hot fomentation 

 continuously, or cold astringent lotions. When heat and 

 tenderness have subsided the high-heeled shoe may be dis- 

 pensed with, the foot shod level and active blisters applied. 

 The preparations of the iodides of mercury are among the best. 

 In old cases of extreme contraction the tendons can be cut 

 across by a narrow-bladed knife with as little external wound as 

 possible, and the limb extended to its proper form and retained 

 there by splints and bandages until new fibrous tissue fills up 

 the interval between the divided ends. The operation is per- 

 fonned in the middle of the shank, below the connexion with 

 the stay ligament, and is very successful in appropriate cases, 

 restoring a helpless cripple to perfect usefulness. For the 

 minutiae of the operation the reader is referred to our larger 

 work. Calcified, knotted tendons are utterly unsuited to it 



SPRAIN OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT. 



This structure lies between the shank-bone and the back 

 tendons, and extends from the back of the lower part ot the 

 knee to the little bones (sesamoids) which form the pulley for 

 the tendons behind the fetlock, with prolongations forward on 

 the sides of the pastern to join the extensor tendon of the foot, 

 The seat of sprain may be at any part, but is usually in the 

 lower third ot the shank, where it divides into an inner and an 

 outer branch. The sprain may cause but the slightest percep- 

 tible swelling on one of these branches, or the ligament may be 



