HYPERTROPHIES AND ATROPHIES 



155 



Treatment of warts is essentially of a surgical character; the means 

 adopted for their removal are various. The most summary method of 

 removing them is by the use of the knife ; a ligature in the case of pedun- 

 culated warts is also employed, and caustics are used for warts in any shape 

 or in any position. A favourite compound is arsenic mixed into a paste 

 with honey. The wart which is 

 to be removed is scraped in 

 the centre until slight bleeding- 

 occurs; to this spot the arsenical 

 paste is applied, and the in- 

 flammation which follows ends 

 in the sloughing of the whole 

 growth; but unless the caustic 

 preparation is employed very 

 carefully, the destructive action 

 of the arsenic will extend be- 

 yond the wart and serious loss 

 of structure is likely to happen. 

 When warts occur in positions 

 where caustics could not safely 

 be used, it is the practice of 



some to take the affected animal c> ribrous stroma D> Blood . vessel 



to a slaughter-house and dress 



the warts with the blood of a recently-killed animal. Two or three appli- 

 cations of this treatment are said to cause the growths to shrink and 

 ultimately to fall off. 



Fibroma. Fibro-cellular growths in the skin are of occasional occur- 

 rence in the horse; they are sometimes described as soft warts. The 

 presence of the cellular element in the tumour renders their permanent 

 removal doubtful. They are got rid of for the moment by the use of 

 the knife, but the growth is likely to recur, and in order to arrest this 

 as far as possible it is desirable to employ caustic dressing immediately 

 after the operation. 



ATROPHIES 



Any form of senile decay would be reckoned amongst atrophies, but the 

 condition is rarely observed in the horse excepting as the result of continu- 

 ous pressure on a particular part. The hair appears to suffer from this 

 change more than other of the cutaneous structures. 



Fig. 269. Section of Wart 

 A, Horny Epidermis. B, Deep Layer of Germinal Cells. 



