280 



support, at least after their formation, if not for their incipient exist- 

 ence. It is certain that inflammation of the periosteum is frequently 

 referable to wounds and bruises caused by external agencies, and it is 

 also true that it may possibly result from the spreading inflammation 

 of surrounding diseased tissues, but in any case the result is uniformly 

 seen in the deposit of a bony growth, more or less difl'use, sometimes of 

 irregular outline, and at others projecting distinctly from the surface 

 from which it springs, as so commonly presented in the ringbone and 

 the spavin. This condition of periostitis is often difficult to determine. 

 The signs of inflammation are so obscure, the swelling of the parts so 

 insignificant, an}' increase of heat so imperceptible, and the soreness so 

 slight, that even the most acute observer may fail to locate the point of 

 its existence, and it is often long after the discovery of the disease itself 

 that its location is positively revealed by the visible presence of the exos- 

 tosis. Yet the first question had been resolved, in discovering the fact 

 of the lameness, while the second and third remained unanswered, and 

 the identification of the affected limb and the point of origin of the 

 trouble remained unknown until their palpable revelation to the senses. 

 When, by careful scrutiny the ailment has been located, a resort to treat- 

 ment must be had at once, in order to prevent, if j^ossible, any further 

 deposit of the calcareous structure and increase of the exostotic growth. 

 With this view the application of water, either warm or cold, rendered 

 astringent by the addition of alum or sugar of lead, will be beneficial. 

 The tendency to the formation of the bony growth, and the increase of 

 its development after its actual formation, may often be checked by the 

 application of a severe blister of Spanish fly. The failure of these means 

 and the establishment of the diseased process in the form of chronic 

 periostitis causes various changes in the bone covered by the disordered 

 membrane, and the result may be softening, degeneration, or necrosis, 

 but more usually it is followed by the formation of the bony growths 

 referred to, on the cannon bone, the coronet, the hock, etc. 



SPLINTS. 



We first turn our attention to the splint, as certain bony enlargements 

 which aredeveloped on the cannon bone, between the knee or thehock and 

 the fetlock joint, are called. They are found on the inside of the leg, 

 from the knee, near to which they are to be found, downward to about the 

 lower third of the principal cannon bone. They are of various dimen- 

 sions, and are readily perceptible both to the eye and to the touch. 

 They vary considerably in size, ranging from that of a large nut down- 

 ward to very small proportions. In searching for them they may be 

 readily detected by the hand if they have attained sufficient develop- 

 ment in their usual 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 pathological formation of any kind, but 

 merely the normal development of the small cannon bone. 



