= 
Williams, Fisher, -and Udall: The Spavin Group. 5 
of that in another. True, here and there an author has vaguely 
hinted at the systemic etiology of one or another member of 
the group, as has Dieckerhoff (Der Spat des Pferdes) in rec- 
ognizing brustseuche as an essential cause of some cases of 
spavin. 
During the period of our study and subsequent to the prep- 
aration of the thesis mentioned, Messrs. Vivien and Augustin, 
in the Revue Generale de Leclainche for July, 1904 (Am. Vet. 
Review, Nov., 1904, page 712), came forward with a thesis 
ascribing this group essentially to systemic disturbances and 
assigning to trauma a secondary rdle so that, working without 
knowledge of the trend of each other’s investigations, the gen- 
eral conclusions have proven parallel in some of their leading 
features. 
In dealing with the pathological anatomy, it is not essential 
for us to enter into it in detail, since the data published by 
any one of several authors would necessarily be repeated, and 
if included as related by any one of them regarding one of the 
group of maladies, would serve for a description of the lesions 
of any other one or all of them almost indifferently. Were 
we to take the descriptions of the lesions of spavin by Percivall, 
Dieckerhoff or Eberlein, they would, in a large measure, corre- 
spond, varying somewhat because of the bias of each as to 
the etiology of this affection, and if we set aside the influence 
of this belief, then each description would serve equally well for 
ringbone, navicular disease or other member of the group. If 
we select from the most extensive and recent investigations in 
the histology of these affections, we would mention Eberlein 
(Monatshefte fur Praktische Thierheilkunde, Vol. IX, pp. I-49) 
as to spavin, and Karnbach (Monatshefte fur Praktische Thier- 
heilkunde, Vol. XI, page 516), and Udriski (Ibid, page 337) on 
ringbones. 
The initial point of the disease process is variously held by 
different authors, in harmony with their views as to the cause. 
If the systemic hypothesis of Vivien and Augustin and that of 
ourselves be accepted, the pathologic orgin is general, and the 
controversy has been waged over the first region of visible 
intensity, which may vary in different cases. The disease, 
according to our observations, affects the entire skeletal system, 
involving primarily the ‘general system and causing constitu- 
tional disturbances, of which the arthritis becomes the local 
