272 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



OSTEO MYELITIS. 



This term refers to an inflammation of the bone marrow, which is 

 most commonly seen following the bacterial infection of a compound 

 fracture and usually results in pus formation. The bone is melted 

 away, and pus escapes from the bone under the periosteum, involving 

 the soft tissues. It is principally confined to the long bones and sel- 

 dom affects more than one. 



Treatment. — The bone should be opened for the purpose of curet- 

 ting out the diseased portion of the marrow cavity and removing all 

 the necrotic pieces of bone. This should be undertaken only by a 

 competent veterinarian. The after treatment consists in tamponing 

 the wound with pledgets of iodoform gauze or injecting a 2 per cent 

 solution of sulphruic acid or hydrochloric acid of similar strength or 

 pure lactic acid or a mixture of iodoform 1 part and glycerin 4 parts. 

 The wound in the soft tissue should l3e kept open until the cavity in 

 the bone has filled with granulation tissue. 



This disease, also called " rachitis," is an inflammatory affection of 

 young, growing bones, and involves the ribs and long bones of the 

 legs mostly. It consists in a failure of the organism to deposit lime 

 salts in bone, and for this reason the bones do not ossify as rapidly as 

 they should. The cartilaginous ends of the bones grow rapidly, but 

 ossification does not keep pace with it. The bones become long and 

 their ends bend at the joints, the legs become crooked, and the joints 

 are large and irregular. All the bones affected with this disease are 

 thicker than normal, and the gait of the animal is stiff and painful. 

 A row of bony enlargements may be found where the ribs articulate 

 with the cartilages connecting them with the breastbone and is called 

 the " beaded line." A catarrhal condition of the digestive tract is 

 usually observed. The disease may result from an inherited weak- 

 ness of constitution, poor hygienic surroundings, or improper diet. 

 Calves and foals are less frequently affected with rickets than dogs 

 and pigs. 



Treatment. — The affected animal should be given nourishing food 

 containing a proper amount of lime salts. Outdoor exercise and 

 plenty of fresh air are indispensable. Limewater should be given 

 once daily for drinking purposes and ground bone meal mixed with 

 the food. Phosphorus, one-fortieth of a grain, and calcium phos- 

 phate, 1 dram, given twice daily to a 2-month-old calf, and propor- 

 tionally increased for older animals, has proved efficacious in this 

 disease. In some cases the long bones of the limbs are top weak at 



