WOUNDS 209 
occurring in the forge the reader may be referred to the 
matter under the heading of ‘ nail-bound.’ As in that case 
so in this the nail may be wrongly directed by improper 
fitting of the shoe, by the ‘ pitch’ of the hole, or by the 
position of the hole. The nails may also be wrongly 
directed as a result of faulty pointing, or by meeting with 
the stump of a nail that has carelessly been allowed to 
remain in the substance of the horn. 
Often pricking is a result of carelessness engendered 
by a rush of work. Often it is almost unavoidable on 
account of the character of the foot that is brought to 
be shod. Feet with thin horn, especially a thin sole, feet 
with horn shelly and brittle, each in their way are difficult 
to shoe. 
Sometimes pricking is purely accidental, as in the case 
of a ‘split’ nail. The nail as it is driven splits at its 
point, and continues to split down its centre, one half 
emerging at the correct spot on the wall, the other half 
bending inwards, and penetrating the sensitive structures. 
Common Situations of the Wound.—In a case of picked-up 
nail the common seat of puncture is about the point of the 
frog, either in one of the lateral lacunez, in the median 
lacuna, or the apex of the frog itself. In comparison with 
this puncture of the sole is rare. 
Prick sustained at the hands of the smith may, of course, 
run in either of the following directions: (1) Directly into 
the position where the horny and sensitive lamin inter- 
leave ; (2) between the sensitive lamin and the os pedis ; 
(3) into the os pedis itself; (4) the nail may bend exces- 
sively immediately after entering the horn, and so pass 
either between the horny and sensitive sole ; or (5) between 
the sensitive sole and the bone. 
Classification.—Punctured wounds of the foot may be 
classified as follows : 
Simple or superficial when penetrating no structure of 
great importance. For instance, a prick that penetrates to 
the sensitive sole and is not driven with sufficient force to 
seriously injure the os pedis we may regard as simple. In 
14 
