92 DISEASES OF THE HORSE'S FOOT 



honour, he having satisfactorily performed the operation 

 on numerous animals for fully eighteen years prior to 

 Professor Sewell's announcement. It appears that Moor- 

 craft left this country for India in 1808, having practised 

 the operation in more or less obscurity for some six or 

 seven years previous to that. After his departure neurec- 

 tomy, as introduced by him, either died away in repute, 

 or was not made by him sufficiently public to become a 

 matter of general knowledge. To Professor Sewell, there- 

 fore, although not the actual originator of the operation, 

 belongs the honour of making it public to the veterinary 

 profession. 



In 1824, five years after Sewell's introduction, we find 

 it practised on the Continent by Girard. We gather, 

 however, from the writings of Percival and Liautard, that 

 both in this country and on the Continent the operation 

 was for several years largely in the stage of experiment. 

 Unsuitable subjects were operated on; the work afterwards 

 given to the animal improperly adjusted to his altered con- 

 dition; and the bad after-results of the operation almost 

 ignored by some, and greatly exaggerated by others. In 

 fact, some long time elapsed before veterinary surgeons 

 allotted to the operation that measure of credit which the 

 results following it warranted. 



The Object of the Operation is to render the foot insen- 

 sitive to pain, and to give to an otherwise incurably lame 

 animal a further period of usefulness. After the operation, 

 as time goes on, this object may become defeated by the 

 reunion of the divided ends of the nerve. In that case, 

 neurectomy must necessarily be performed again. 



The Operation. — Two forms of neurectomy are recog- 

 nised — the high operation and the low. The low operation 

 deals with the posterior digital branch of the plantar nerve, 

 and the high operation with the plantar itself. 



It is the latter operation with which we shall deal first. 

 In our opinion it is that most likely to be followed by 

 satisfactory results. The area supplied by the posterior 

 digital is mainly the posterior portion of the digit Thus, 



