232 DISEASES OF THE HORSE’S FOOT 
Always, however, the presence of septic infection must be 
suspected and looked for. When this has occurred, the 
inflammatory swelling becomes larger and more diffuse, and 
the animal fevered. This is then followed by a slough of 
the injured part. A portion of the skin first becomes gray, 
or even black, in appearance, and around it oozes an in- 
flammatory exudate, or even pus. The skin immediately 
adjoining the spot of necrosis is swollen and hyperemic, 
and extremely painful and sensitive. Later, the necrosed 
portion becomes cast off, and an open wound remains. 
This as a rule marks the turning-point in the case. The 
pain and other symptoms rapidly abate, and the wound, 
with proper attention, is not more than ordinarily difficult 
to treat. 
In the case of an actual wound the symptoms are prob- 
ably less severe. The injury is, in this instance, the 
sooner detected, and remedial measures put into operation. 
In this manner the formation of septic material is often 
checked, and nothing but the treatment of a simple wound 
demands attention. 
There are, however, complications. 
Complications—(a) Diffuse Purulent Inflammatian of the 
Sub-coronary Tissue.—This condition is brought about by 
the spread into the loose tissue of the coronary cushion of 
the septic material introduced by the tread. The whole 
coronet in this instance becomes excessively swollen, hot, . 
and painful, and the dangerous nature of the complication 
is evident enough when the structure and situation of the 
parts involved is considered. The amount of tendinous 
and ligamentous material in the neighbourhood offers a 
strong predisposition to necrosis, and the necrosis, with its 
attendant formation of pus, offers a further danger when 
the close proximity of the pedal articulation and the un- 
yielding character of the horny box is considered with it. 
The pus formed in this condition may remain confined to 
the coronet and break through the skin as an ordinary ab- 
scess, or it may, before so doing, burrow beneath the wall, 
and invade the sensitive laminez. In this case, whenever 
