252 KENNEL DISEASES. 
ever, all these structures very readily unite and heal after the dislocated bones 
are returned to place, unless the dislocation be compound or complicated. 
While if a dislocation is not reduced, or, in other words, the displaced bone is 
not put back or set, Nature always endeavors to compensate for the injury by 
furnishing another socket for the displaced head of the bone in its new situa- 
tion, also new ligaments; and meanwhile the old socket fills up. Thus, thanks 
to her benevolence, a bone may be dislocated and neglected, yet a very useful 
joint be furnished in time; and where such injury has occurred in puppyhood 
and been left to itself, not having been detected, in not a few instances the 
adjustments were so perfect the dogs were as strong and active as ever on their 
legs and free from any notable sign of deformity or lameness. 
One radical difference between a dislocation and a fracture is that where the 
former occurs the affected leg is but slightly if at all movable by efforts of the 
victim, whereas in the latter the condition is directly opposite, and the leg can 
be moved about even more freely than would be possible were the bone not 
broken. A dislocated leg is usually stiffly fixed in its unnatural position, and 
any attempt to move it causes intense pain; moreover, during such attempt, 
there is not heard that grating sound which is plain when the ends of a broken 
bone are moved over each other. 
An evidence of dislocation that can scarcely escape detection is more or less 
deformity of the parts, which appears when the uninjured is compared with the 
injured member. With the dog placed in proper position it will be readily seen 
that the dislocated bone is longer or shorter than the like bone on the opposite 
side. Another fact to be remembered is, that if a dislocated bone be drawn 
back into its proper place any existing enlargement or deformity will disappear ; 
while if a broken bone be treated in the same manner the deformity will disap- 
pear, but invariably reappear as soon as the leg is released by the hands and 
allowed to slip back to its unnatural position. Pain and swelling are present in 
both dislocations and fractures, but as a rule they are more severe in the former 
than in the latter. 
The setting of a broken bone may be delayed for some hours without harm 
resulting, but a dislocation ought to be reduced at once; and the sooner it is 
undertaken the easier that operation. Again, if the attempt at reduction is made 
immediately after the accident, rarely will ether be required, whereas it must 
generally be administered where there has been any delay. 
He who would reduce a dislocated bone should be not only intelligent and 
of “good nerve,” but have some knowledge of the structure of the affected joint. 
A person so endowed ought to find the essential operation easy provided he 
undertakes it within a few minutes of the accident, but if the bone has been 
out of place any considerable length of time he should seek the assistance of a 
professional. 
Dislocation of the lower jaw sometimes occurs, but only rarely unless that 
