291 



iiiside of the leg, from tlie knee, near to wnicli tliey are to he found, 

 downward to about tlie lower third of the principal cannon bone! 

 They are of various dimensions, and are readily perceptible both to 

 the eye and to the touch. They vary considerably in size, ranging 

 from that of a large nut downward to very small proportions. In 

 searching for them tliey may be readily detected by the hand if they 

 have attained sufficient development in their nsual situation, but must 

 be distinguished from a small bony enlargement which may be felt at 

 the lower third of the cannon bone, and is not a splint nor a patho- 

 logical formation of any kind, but merely the normal development of 

 the small cannon bone. 



We have said that splints are to be found on the inside of the leg. 

 This is true as a general statement, but it is not invariably so, and they 

 occasionaUy appear on tlie outside. It is also true that they appear 

 most commonly on the fore legs, but this is not exclusively the case, 

 and they may at times be found on both the inside and outside of the 

 hind legs. Usually a splint forms only a true exostosis, or a single 

 bony growth, with a somewhat diffuse base, but neither is this invari- 

 ably the case. In some instances they assume more important dimen- 

 sions, and pass from the inside to the outside of the bone, on its pos- 

 terior face, between that and the suspensory ligament. This form is 

 termed the 2^egged splint, and constitutes a serious and permanent 

 deformity, in consequence of its interference with the play of the 

 fibrous cord which passes behind it, becoming thus a source of con- 

 tinual irritation and consequently of permanent lameness. 



A splint may tlius frequently become a cause of lameness though 

 not necessarily in every instance; but it is a lameness possessing f cul- 

 tures peculiar to itself. It is not always continuous, but at times 

 assumes an intermittent character, and is more marked Avhen the ani- 

 mal is warm than when he is cool. If the lameness is near the knee- 

 joint, it is very apt to become aggravated when the animal is put to 

 work, and the gait acquires then a peculiar character, arising from 

 the manner in which the limb is carried outward from the knees down- 

 wards, whicli is done by a kind of abduction of the lower part of the 

 leg. Other symptoms, however, than the lameness and the presence 

 of the splint, which is its cause, may be looked for in the samie connec- 

 tion as those which have been mentioned as pertaining to certain evi- 

 dences of periostitis, in the increase of the temperature of the part, 

 with swelling and probably pain on pressure. This last symptom is 

 of no little importance, since its presence or absence has in many 

 cases formed the determining point in deciding a question of difficult 

 diagnosis. 



A splint being one of the results of periostitis, and the latter one of 

 the effects of external hurts, it naturally follows that the parts Avhich 

 are most exposed to blows and collisions will be those on which the 

 splmt will most commonly be found, and it may not be improper. 



