496 PEELIMINAET EEMABKS. 



tissues, sprain, and inflammation of the ligaments and tendons, 

 laceration and inflammation of the muscular fibre, disease of 

 the structures peculiar to the foot, faults or accidents in 

 shoeing, contusions, wounds of all sorts, tumours, ulcerations, 

 fractures, dislocations, spasm, and paralysis. A catalogue suffi- 

 cient to show that the causes of lameness," as remarked above, 

 are innumerable, " and equally various in kind as in degree — 

 some being altogether as simple in their character as others are 

 complex and obscure." * Without a knowledge of the anatomy 

 and physiology of the locomotive apparatus of the horse, and of 

 the normal conditions of every tissue, the aggregate of which 

 constitutes the limbs — without an extensive experience of the 

 operation of the various causes enumerated, and of their almost 

 innumerable modes of acting and operating, an accurate diag- 

 nosis of the precise nature and seat of lameness in all cases, is 

 simply impossible. 



The parts most prone to injury, and of the animal to 

 become lame in consequence, are the feet, the tendons, and the 

 hock joints. 



Many of the joints, comparatively speaking, are but rarely 

 affected with disease ; the elbow of the fore limb, — the 

 hip, and the navicular joints of the hind limbs are of this 

 character. 



The fore feet are far more prone to be affected with disease, 

 and the animal to be lame in consequence, than the hind feet. 



Spavin, Navicular Nisease, and that condition of bone disease 

 of the knee joint which is very liable to terminate in anchylosis 

 of the knee, are all of a character closely similar to each 

 other. 



In every case of lameness, especially when symptomatic of 

 disease of afore limhj before a practitioner joronounces a decisive 

 * Percival's Hippopathology, Vol. IV,, Part 1, page 8. 



