The Spavin Group of Lamenesses. 
W. L. Wittiams, Irwaca,'N. Y., Cart W. Fisoer, SAN Mateo, CAtt- 
FORNIA, AND D, H. Upati, Onto State Universiry. 
Historically, spavin is perhaps the oldest lameness of the 
horse. Standing in the foremost rank economically, it has 
received at least as much, if not more study than any other. 
Grouped about this malady and certainly allied, if not identical, 
to it, in cause and pathology, is a long'list of separately de- 
scribed affections, some of which may well challenge the suprem- 
acy of spavin itself in their frequency and power of diminishing 
or destroying the usefulness of the horse. We have, therefore, 
elected to give spavin the title réle, rather from convenience 
than from an inherent right of this one affection to dominate the 
nomenclature of this extensive group. Among the most com- 
mon and important members of the group, in their approximate 
order of frequency and economic importance, we would mention 
spavin, navicular disease, ringbone, sidebone, sesamoiditis, 
spinitis, gonitis, carpitis, humero-radial arthritis, scapulo-humeral 
arthritis, etc. In the observations of Dr. Fisher spavin should 
occupy third or fourth place in frequency. ‘ 
Taken asa group, they constitute by far the most important 
lamenesses and, in the destruction of the value of the horse, take 
high rank among all diseases to which this animal is liable. 
Under the title of arthritis sicca or arthritis deformans, 
numerous writers on general veterinary pathology group these 
affections together without definitely assigning them to a com- 
mon cause or suggesting, as a rule, any close relationship beyond 
the evident similarity of tissue changes, indeed most writers 
on regional surgery ignore generic identity and treat each as 
an isolated disease. Without desiring to detract in the. least. 
from the excellency of the very extensive literature upon these 
as separate diseases, we desire to present the entire category 
as one group of closely allied affections, or, rather, as a malady 
expressing itself by common phenomena in various parts of the 
skeletal tissues and in other parts of the integument. 
The senior author first had his attention attracted to the 
group, as such, through observations made as a result of a 
