POSTERIOR MEMBER. 245 



ground is ordinarily equal to that of the elbow, in swift horses as well 

 as in others, whatever may have been said to the contrary. 



Whilst the neatness of outline of this region is a quality to be 

 desired, its direction should not escape a careful examination. With 

 good reason, a stifle which lies close to the abdomen, and is slightly 

 deviated outward, is preferred to one that is low, deviated inward, or 

 even parallel to the, median plane. The first direction, indeed;~rndi- 

 cates great length and a beautiful obliquity of the thigh and great ease 

 in executing the movement of flexion of this segment. In the second 

 case, the stifle is liable to strike the abdominal parietes, a drawback 

 which must needs have a certain importance in the modification of the 

 rapidity of the gait, confining as it does the forward displacement of the 

 thigh, the more so as it often coincides with a femur which is short and 

 not sufficiently oblique. 



Nevertheless, too great a separation of the stifles will be defective, 

 in so far that it will surely superinduce an outward deviation of the 

 inferior part of the members and render the animal outbow-footcd. 

 We will return to this point a propos of the axes. 



Diseases and Blemishes. The stifle presents various affections 

 which deserve our attention. They are : 



1st. Synovial dilatations, a kind of thorough-pins, which appear in the 

 form of a soft tunior, more developed internally than externally, at the level of the 

 patellar ligaments. They manifest themselves by a round, sometimes lobulated, 

 fluctuating enlargement of a variable volume. When the distention is of large 

 dimensions, the synovial membrane is bulged out above the patella underneath 

 the extremity of the crural triceps muscle, where it forms a more or less accentu- 

 ated swelling. Its prognosis is then rather serious on account both of the diffi- 

 culty which is experienced in obtaining its resolution and of the lameness of 

 the horse. 



2d. Exostoses, located on the anterior surface of the patella, and resulting 

 most frequently from external violence. 



3d. Superficial or else deep wounds, inflicted by knocks or blows. They 

 have no gravity so long as the skin alone is involved ; but the immediate conse- 

 quence of such causes maybe/rac^re of the patella, a rare accident, fortunately, 

 for it incapacitates the animal for work for a long time and induces nearly always 

 a permanent lameness. 



4th. Displacements, called luxations of the patella, common in young 

 horses, and vulgarly designated under the name of foal's cramp. This bone, 

 according to some, is supposed to be thrown out of its cavity of reception, that 

 is to say, altogether dislocated towards the outer side of its trochlea ; according 

 to others, it is supported, or rather held, by the very salient eminence which is 

 formed by the superior extremity of the internal lip of the femoral trochlea. 1 



1 See, for more details, Bulletin de la Societe centrale de medecine veterinaire, seances du 

 11 Aout et du 27 Octobre, 1881. (MM. Bouley, Chuchu, Cagny, Nocard, Trasbot, Weber.) 



