588 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 



the result of muscular action, the weight of the body, walk- 

 ing, and the feeble resistance of the bones, all of which pre- 

 vent the animal from standing upright. From a front view 

 the legs may form a parenthesis "( )", or at another time an 

 "X", "K", "D" or "B", according to the deflections of the 

 axes of the limbs. In the hind legs different abnormal curva- 

 tures may be found. The pelvis may be deformed, flattened 

 or curved in the cotyloid cavities. The latter state may con- 

 tract the pelvic passage and cause dystocia in the adult. It 

 is difficult for the animals to keep in the standing position 



K<rt'- 



FiG. 91. 

 Rachitis in the Dog (Photo. Cadeac.) 



or to walk. The femurs are bent and rickety. The deform- 

 ations of the vertebral column are varied, presenting differ- 

 ent abnormal incurvations — arch-backed or kyphosis; sad- 

 dle-backed or lordosis; right or left inclination or scoliosis. 

 These deviations have been observed in colts, and when 

 consolidation of the bones occurs later in life the subject 

 often becomes useful, even for fast work. The ribs may be 

 knotty at each cartilage and thus produce a deformity of 

 the thoracic cage. The head is not exempt from rachitic 

 manifestations, which cause an increase in the volume of • 



