42 LAMENESS IN THE HORSE. 



History. — Lameness following collisions, blows and 

 runaways. 



Inspection. — Severe swinging-leg lameness. "When trying 

 to walk it seems as though the foot could not be raised 

 from the ground. On forced movement no weight is put 

 upon the lame leg. Backing is done fairly well, the animal 

 even picking up the foot. When at rest the lame leg is 

 carried further back under the belly than the sound one, 

 and often supports its share of the weight of the body in 

 this position. 



Palpation. — Entirely out of proportion to the intense 

 lameness is the small amount of pain and swelling about 

 that muscle ; it is absent in chronic bursitis, where lameness 

 is most marked when the leg is carried forward. In these 

 cases wasting away and contraction of the muscle is occa- 

 sionally noticed. Bilateral bursitis causes a groggy, stiflf 

 gait ; the shoulders are apparently immovable. 



6. —Paralysis of the Radial Nerve. 



Anatomy.— This, the largest nerve furnished by the 

 brachial plexus, runs downward and backward, crossing the 

 inner face of the subscapularis and teres major muscles. 

 Arriving at the deep humeral artery, it passes behind the 

 humerus, entering between the large extensor of the fore-arm 

 and the short flexor of the fore-arm ; it runs along the 

 posterior border of this muscle, gains the anterior face of the 

 radio -ulnar articulation, runs on down to the oblique 

 extensor of the metacarpus, terminating here by two 

 branches. This nerve stimulates all the extensors of the 

 fore-arm and foot and the external flexor of the metacarpus, 

 endowing with sensibility the skin of the outer and anterior 

 surface of the fore-arm. (Chauveau.) 



