295 



elusions in similar cases, among which we may refer to one instance of 

 a complete fracture manifesting itself in an animal during the act of 

 rising up in his stall after a decision had been i^ronounced that he had 

 no fracture at all. 



Fractures are of course liable to complications, those especially, from 

 the nature of the case, which are of a traumatic character, such as ex- 

 tensive lacerations, tearing of tissues, punctures, contusions, etc. But 

 unless these are iu communication with the fracture itself the indica- 

 tion is to treat them simply as independent lesions upon other parts of 

 the body. A traumatic emphysema will at times cause trouble, and 

 abscesses, more or less deep and diffused, may follow. In some cases 

 small bony fragments from a comminuted fracture, becoming loose 

 and acting as foreign bodies, may give rise to troublesome fistulous 

 tracts. A frequent complication is hemorrhage, which often becomes of 

 serious consequence. A fracture in close proximity to a joint may be 

 accompanied by dangerous inflammations of important organs, and in- 

 duce an attack of pneumonia, pleurisy, arthritis, etc., as \vell as lux- 

 ations or dislocations, and the more so if situated nearthe chest. Gan- 

 grow, as a consequence of contusions or of hemorrhage or of an imped- 

 iment to the circulation, caused by unskillfully applied apparatus, must 

 not be overlooked among the occasional incidents; nor must locljaio, 

 which is not an uncommon occurrence. Even founder or laminitis has 

 been met with as the result of forced and long continued immobility 

 of the feet in the standing posture, as one of the involvements of uua- 

 voidabl3' protracted treatment. 



When a simple fracture has been i^roperly treated and the broken 

 ends of the bone have been securely held in coaptation one of two 

 things will occur. Either — and this is the more common event — there 

 will be a union of the two ends by a solid cicatrix, the callus, or the 

 ends will continue separated or become only partially united by an in- 

 termediate fibrous structure. In the first instance the fracture is con- 

 solidated, or iinited, iu the second there is a false articulation, ov ijscudo- 

 arthrosis. 



The time required for a firm union or true consolidation of a fracture 

 will vary with the character of the bone affected, the age and constitu- 

 tion of the patient, and the general conditions of the case. The union 

 will be perfected earlier in a young than in an adult animal, and sooner 

 in the latter than in the aged, and a general healthy condition is of course, 

 in every respect, an advantage. 



The mode of cicatrization, or method of repair in lesions of the bones, 

 has been a subject of much study among investigators in pathology, and 

 has elicited various expressions of opinion from those high in authority. 

 But the weight of evidence and i)reponderance of opinion are about 

 settled in favor of the theory that the law of reparation is the same for 

 both the hard and the soft tissues. In one case a simple exudation of 

 material, with the proper organization of newly formed tissue, will 



