286 



SIDE BONES. 



On eacTi side of the bone of tlio foot— the coffin-bone— tliere are nor- 

 mally two supplementary organs which are called the cartilages of the 

 foot. They are soft, and though in a degree elastic, yet somewhat re- 

 sisting, and are implanted on the lateral wing of the cofSn-bone. Evi- 

 dently their office is to assist in the elastic expansion and contraction 

 of the posterior part of the foot, and their healthy and normal action 

 doubtless contributes in an important degree to the perfect performance 

 of the functions of that part of the leg. These organs are, however, 

 liable to undergo a process of disease which results in an entire change 

 in their properties, if not in their shape, by which they acquire a char- 

 acter of hardness resulting from the deposit of earthy substance in the 

 intimate structure of the cartilage, and it is this change, when its con- 

 summation has been affected, that brings to our cognizance the diseased 

 growth which has received the designation of side-hones. They are 

 situated on one or both sides of the leg, bulging above the superior 

 border of the foot in the form of two hard bodies composed of ossified 

 cartilage, irregularly square in shape and unyielding under the pressure 

 of the fingers. 



The side-bone may be a termination of alow inflammatory condition, 

 or of an acute attack as well, or may be caused by sprains, bruises, or 

 blows ; or they may have their rise in certain diseases affecting the foot 

 proper, as corns, quarter cracks, or quittor. The deposit of calcareous 

 matter in the cartilage is not always uniform, the base of that organ 

 near its line of union with the coffin-bone being in some cases its limit, 

 while at other times it is diffused throughout its substance, the size 

 and prominence of the tumors varying much in consequence. It would 

 naturally be inferred that the amount of interference with the proper 

 functions of foot which must result from such a imthological change 

 would be proportioned to the size of the tumor, and that as the dimen- 

 sions increased, the resulting lameness would be the greater in degree. 

 This, however, is not the fact. A small tumor, while in a condition of 

 acute inflammation during the formative stage, may cripple a patient 

 more severely than a much larger one in a later stage of the disease. In 

 any case the lameness is never wanting, and with its intermittent charac- 

 ter may usually be detected when the animal is cooled off after labor or 

 exercise. The class of animals in which this feature of the disease is 

 most frequently witnessed is that of the heavy draft horse, and others 

 similarly employed. There is a wide margin of difference in respect to 

 the degrees of severity which may characterize different cases of side- 

 bone. While one may be so slight as to cause no inconvenience, an- 

 other may develop elements of danger which may involve the necessity 

 of severe surgical interference. 



The curative treatment should be similar to the prophylactic, and 

 such means should be used as would tend to prevent the deposit of 

 bony matters by checking the acute inflammation which causes it. 



