329 



sections and made to surround the entire lower part of the leg as in 

 an inflexible case. 



Fracture of the first phalanx. — The hinder extremity is more liable 

 than the fore to this injury. It is usually the result of a violent effort, 

 or of a sudden misstep or twisting of the leg, and may be transverse, 

 or, as has usually been the case in our experience, longitudinal, extend- 

 ing from the upper articular surface down to the center of the bone, 

 and generally oblique and often comminuted. The symptoms are the 

 swelling and tenderness of the region, possibl}^ crepitation; a certain 

 abnormal mobility; an excessive degree of lameness, and in some 

 instances a dropping back of the fetlock, with perhaps a straightened 

 or upright condition of the pastern. 



The difficulty of reduction and coaptation in this accident, and the 

 probability of bony deposits, as of ringbones, resulting in lameness, 

 are circumstances which tend to discourage a favorable ijrognosis. 



The treatment is that which has been recommended for all frac- 

 tures, as far as it can be applied. The iron sj^lint which has been 

 mentioned gives excellent results in manj?- instances, but if the frac- 

 ture is incomplete and without displacement a form of treatment less 

 energetic and severe should be attempted. One case is within our 

 knowledge in which the owner of an injured horse lost his propertj^ 

 by his refusal to subject the animal to treatment, the j30s^ mortem 

 revealing only a simi3le fracture with very slight displacement. 



Fractures of the coronet. — Though these are generally of the com- 

 minuted kind, there are often conditions associated with them which 

 justify the surgeon in attempting their treatment. Though crepita- 

 tion is not always easj^ to detect, the excessive lameness, the soreness 

 on pressure, the inability to carry weight, the difficulty experienced 

 in raising the foot, all these suggest, as the solution of the question 

 of diagnosis, the fracture of the coronet, with the accompanying 

 realization of the fact that there is yet, by reason of the situation of 

 the member, immobilized as it is by its structure and its surround- 

 ings, room left for a not unfavorable prognosis. Only a slight 

 manii^ulation will be needed in the treatment of this lesion. To ren- 

 der the immobility of the region more fixed, to support the bones in 

 their position by bandaging, and to establish forced immobility of the 

 entire body with the slings is usually all that is required. Ringbone, 

 being a common sequela of the reparative process, must receive due 

 attention subsequently. One of the severest complications likely to 

 be encountered is anchylosis. 



Fractures of the as pedis. — Though these lesions are not of very 

 rare occurrence their recognition is not easy, and there is more of 

 speculation than of certainty pertaining to their diagnosis. The 

 animal is very lame, and, as much as possible, spares the injured 

 foot, sometimes resting it upon the toe alone and sometimes not at 

 oUGl— HOR 11* 



