THE SKELETON. 401 



These cases are long and tedious, and require to be treated 

 by change to full and highly nutritious diet, a mild 

 laxative to empty the alimentary canal, and subsequently 

 mineral tonics. 



Post-mortem examination shows ligaments torn away 

 from their attachments, bones enlarged, friable, and pre- 

 senting outgrowths. Fractures also are generally present. 

 This disease is similar in many of its characters to " Osteo- 

 porosis '' as seen in the horse, but differs in the presence 

 of friable tumours and in the considerable alteration in 

 shape which the bones undergo. Whether these are the 

 same disease is a matter of importance, for Osteoporosis has 

 been described as affecting the ox by Professor Williams, 

 who says, " Cattle reared on bad, ill- drained land, poorly 

 kept in the winter, grazed on sterile upland pastures 

 during dry summers, or otherwise ill-used, are liable to be 

 affected with it.^-* This matter must be settled by micro- 

 scopical examination of the bones. 



Kachitis — Uickets — is an imperfection of bones seen in 

 young animals, and essentially dependent on the non- 

 deposition of sufficient earthy matter in the ossifying tissue, 

 which therefore yields to the superincumbent weight. 

 This depends on imperfect nutritive supply or mal-assi- 

 milation, and is not infrequently associated with the 

 scrofulous diathesis. As seen in calves it is characterised 

 by enlargement of the joints, a bent condition of the 

 limbs, especially below the knee and the hock. Also, it 

 is almost invariably accompanied by indigestion and 

 diarrhoea. It is first manifested when the animal is a few 

 weeks old, and can be sometimes traced to imperfect 

 supply of milk ; in other cases it may be associated with 

 lesions of the nervous system. 



Treatment. — Careful nursing, nutritious and digestible 

 diet, cod-liver oil and lime water, mineral and vegetable 

 tonics. The medicinal agents should be given in milk. The 

 bent portions of the limb may be supported by properly 

 applied splints on the convex surfaces. As the animal 

 grows older the bones will become hardened, but will 

 remain deformed. 



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