LAMENESS IN THE FORE LEG 73 



provision for wound discharge, should be attended to before 

 extensive destruction of tissue takes place. Resolution is prompt 

 as a rule in such cases because of the vascularity of the struc- 

 tures and the ease with which proper drainage may be effected. 

 No special after-care is necessary if drainage is perfect, ex- 

 cept that one should avoid injecting the wound cavity with 

 aqueous solutions unless it be absolutely necessary to cleanse 

 such cavity, and then it is best to swab the wound rather than 

 to irrigate it freely. 



Shoulder Atrophy. 

 (Sweeny or Swinney) 



No satisfactory consideration of the pathogeny of this condi- 

 tion is recorded, but practitioners have long distinguished be- 

 tween muscular atrophies which are apparently caused without 

 doing serious injury to nerves and muscular atrophy which 

 seems to be due to nerve affection. In the first instance, recov- 

 ery Avhen proper attention is given, is prompt; whereas, in the 

 latter, regeneration of the wasted tissues requires months in 

 spite of the best sort of treatment. 



The parts more frequently affected are the supra- and infra- 

 scapularis (antea- and posteaspinatus) muscles. But in some 

 cases the triceps group is involved; however, this occurs in un- 

 usual and chronic affections. No doubt, these chronic cases are 

 due to suspended innervation and are not to be classed with 

 the ordinary case of atrophy of the aliductor muscles of the 

 liumerus (supra- and infraspinatus) as in the usual case of 

 "sweeny." 



Occurrence. — Shoulder atrophy such as the general practi- 

 tioner commonly meets with, is an affection, more often seen in 

 young animals and it seems to be due to injuries of various kinds 

 which contuse the muscles of the shoulder. Ill-fitting collars 

 and pulling in a manner that there occurs side draft with un- 

 usual strain on the muscles of one side of the neck and shoulder, 

 seem to be the more frequent causes of this trouble. Blows such 

 as are occasioned by kicks and falls frequently result in atrophy 

 of shoulder muscles. 



