THE WITHERS 15 
lar cartilage, (cartilage of prolongation) lat- 
erally. With these boundaries as a point of 
departure, each structure comprising the with- 
ers might be studied per se, but from the sur- 
gical point of view its study en masse is of first 
importance. 
Component Parts 
The withers are composed of skin, fascia, 
muscles, ligaments, cartilage, bones, blood ves- 
sels, lymphatics and nerves. These are com- 
bined in a very complex and exceedingly disad- 
vantageous manner, since in situ they form a 
pyramid whose base is loosely arranged while 
the summit is, dense. The summit of the with- 
ers, under the skin, is composed of hard liga- 
mentous structures fixed firmly to the underly- 
ing bones. From this point, the layers of which 
the region is constituted separate from each 
other in the downward direction, permitting 
thereby a ready filtration of pus into constant- 
ly deeper and more inaccessible fortresses, and 
constituting a favorable field for the fruitful 
development and undisturbed sojourn of in- 
flammatory processes of a chronic character. 
The base of the pyramid is bounded laterally 
and ventrally by bones (the scapule and bodies 
of the dorsal vertebre) while anteriorly and 
posteriorly its component structures extend 
