FRACTURES, . 419 
be taken into consideration. Fragments badly brought together unite, but 
the callus is voluminous, irregular, the leg is shorter, deviated ; a perman- 
ent lameness is the result. It is specially with heavy and strongly muscular 
animals that it is difficult to obtain perfect juxtaposition of the fractured 
ends. Splinters, interposed muscular fragments, a great obliquity of the 
opposed bony surfaces are as many causes which render the work of co- 
aptation difficult. For the olecrarion, the external angle of the hip, the 
point of the ischium, muscular contraction keeps the fragments apart and 
renders their coaptation impossible. 
In some cases, muscles, spasmodically contracted, resist so much more 
that they are more pulled upon; traction awakes contraction. To relieve 
these “ muscular rebellions,” anesthesia must be resorted to. With dogs, 
an injection of morphine given first is advantageous: it throws the organism 
into a state of torpor faciliating the effect of anesthesic vapors; it reduces 
to almost nothing the period of excitement; by it, violent movements 
likely to complicate fracture have been avoided, while they generally occur 
if anesthetic inhalations are used alone. With large animals chloroform- 
ization or mixed anesthesia should be resorted to, carefully holding the ends 
of the bone close together during the period of excitement. Muscular 
relaxation obtained, the fracture is reduced, the ends coaptated and the 
immovable bandage applied. It is advantageous to continue the adminis- 
tration of the anesthetic until the apparatus is well settled and can resist 
the efforts of the animals and of the muscular contraction. 
Must we in all cases of fractures apply immediately the manipulations of 
reduction? If there exists a large bloody effusion, a big inflammatory 
swelling, is it not better to wait until after the diminution of the swelling? 
In man, Dupuytren and Velpeau have said that reduction must be im- 
mediate, in whatever condition the fractured center is. If, as much as 
possible, one must act before the period of inflammatory phenomena, one 
must avoid acting harshly on an inflamed fracture, compress it, or 
twist it, as phlegmonous or gangrenous accidents might follow. The 
bony fragments are surrounded by the exudate, the clots of blood; the 
hand cannot detect them well, they are not felt, and coaptation is only 
imperfect. Malgaigne has shown the enormous resistance offered by 
inflamed muscles, in the reduction of fractures. A weight of one 
kilogramme, attached to the paw of a rabbit whose thigh was fractured, ; 
produced, the very day of the accident, only one centimeter of elongation ; 
two days later a weight of three kilogrammes gave only one of 5 mili. 
meters. In another rabbit, suffering with fracture of the tibia, the over- 
lapping, which was of two centimeters, was overcome the first day with the 
simple weight of 125 grammes; two days later, one of 5 kilogrammes 
elongated the leg only one centimeter and half. The twelfth day, 9 kilo- 
