FRACTURE OF THE HORN. 149 



The bone of the horn is exceedingly vascular ; the most vascular 

 in the whole frame, for it has not only vessels for its own nourish- 

 ment, but for that of its covering ; it is much roughened on its sur- 

 face, and is perforated by innumerable vessels. It is on this account 

 that when it is broken the bleeding is so great — it would scarcely be 

 more profuse from the amputation of a limb. 



FRACTURE OF THE HORN. 



Young bullocks will often too early use their horns. In this way 

 the biOrn occasionally gets fractured. If the bone of the horn is 

 broken, but the external covering is not displaced, nothing is neces- 

 sary but to fix splents to the part, and bind well up, so that the 

 fractured edges shall be kept securely in place, and in a few weeks 

 all will be well. 



Sometimes the horny covering is torn off. If the bone is not frac- 

 tured, it will be best to leave it to nature. There will be a great deal 

 of haemorrhage at first; but this ceasing, leaves the bone covered by 

 coagulated blood This hardens and foi-ms a temporary case for the 

 bone. In the meantime another process commences at the base of 

 the bone. A dense flexible substance is found there, and this begins 

 rapidly to thicken and harden, and to assume the character of good 

 horn ; it then runs up the bone, displaces the crust of coagulated 

 blood as it grows, and covers the bone completely and, much resem- 

 bles and is nearly as strong as the original horn. 



At other times, after ihe horny covering has been torn off, the 

 bone will be found to be fractured, but the parts not perfectly sepa- 

 rated. They must be brought in exact apposition, bound carefully up, 

 and confined with splents, or strong bandages. Union between the 

 edges of the bone will speedily take place, new liorn grow over, and 

 there will be scarcely a mark of the accident. 



At other times, not only is the horny covering torn off, but the 

 bone is also perfectly separated. The bone will never be reproduced ; 

 nature will often attempt it, and a rude mass will be formed, half 

 bony and half cartilaginous. To prevent this, the horn must be 

 sawed off level below the fracture, and the nearer the head the better, 

 because it will be the sooner covered by a prolongation of the cuticle. 

 The hot iron must be frequently passed over the level surface, after 

 which this reproduction will seldom be attempted ; or, if it is, may 

 be easily destroyed by the cautery. As soon as the bone has been 

 sawed off level, and the bleeding stopped, and the cautery applied to 

 the exposed suiface, the part must be bound up as quickly as possible 

 with one tar-cloth above another, so as completely to exclude the air : 

 for the air being now admitted unrestrained to the frontal sinuses, so 

 irritable, it may produce dangerous inflammation. Cases are frequent 

 in which inflammation of the brain or lock-jaw have followed a broken 



