PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 589 



the cranium and a swelling of the maxillary bones. This 

 deformity is especially observed in the hog. 



Rickets has been frequently associated or confounded 

 with schnuflFelkrankheit (sniffling disease), an entirely dif- 

 ferent condition, described in subsequent paragraphs. 



The local manifestations are reflected on all the func- 

 tions, besides giving the animals a special physiognomy, 

 rendering the gait abnormal and producing complications, 

 such as fractures, which consolidate later in life. The con- 

 comitant systemic troubles are those of development end- 

 ing in general atrophy. 



The deformities of the limbs are never as pronounced in 

 the colt as in the dog. Dogs and hogs have been seen to 

 crawl upon their carpi or tarsi in a kneeling or squatting 

 posture. 



Lafosse refers to a case in the colt, presenting a double 

 inflection of the vertebral column, — lateral and vertical. 

 There was a concavity behind the shoulder and one in front 

 of the sacrum, and a pronounced convexity at the junction 

 of the dorsal and lumbar regions. 



The disease may last for months, during which time the 

 patients' condition becomes worse and worse. They are lean, 

 unthrifty and poorly nourished. The feebleness finally be- 

 comes extreme, and a majority of them exhibit accentuated 

 digestive disorders (continued diarrhoea) in addition to the 

 elimination of considerable quantities of lime through the 

 urinary channel. Death occurs from marasmus. 



In some cases, however, the bones may consolidate and 

 the nutrition return. But the deformities persist and the 

 animals remain small (below the average size) and de- 

 formed through life. The limbs are shortened and the at- 

 titude is abnormal. 



The course of the disease is slow; it lasts from two to 

 four months, or even more. In some cases the bones re- 



