Fractures and Dislocations 299 



the limb as diagnostic, any of which signs in practice 

 may be absent. There may be no sweUing, no 

 shortening of the Hmb and no crepitus, yet a bone 

 may be fractured, and this is where the layman is 

 baffled in his diagnosis. As previously stated, 

 fractures of the Hmbs occur frequently in hounds, 

 especially of the forearm and pastern bones ; the arm 

 or shoulder blade is occasionally fractured, and if 

 there is displacement there will be no difficulty in 

 detecting crepitus. But displacement does not al- 

 ways occur at the time of injury; if not, the fracture 

 is spoken of as deferred. Fractures of the pelvis, 

 i.e., the girdle uniting the hind limbs to the spinal 

 column, is liable to happen when a dog is run over, 

 though it is not necessarily an incurable injury, 

 as the writer has proved that certain forms of pelvis 

 fracture are curable by keeping the animal in as 

 small a space as possible for a period of about three 

 months, so as to ensure as much restriction from 

 movement as possible. Fracture of the thigh bones 

 must be looked upon as a serious injury and only 

 capable of treatment under professional guidance. 

 If swelling accompanies the injury it is advisable to 

 foment the part with hot water; the broken ends 

 should then be adjusted (that is after the sweUing 

 has disappeared) and maintained in position either 

 by means of a plaster of Paris or starch bandage; 

 if neither of these substances are at hand, white of 



