lameness: its causes and treatment. 343 



the rectal taxis, as if with eyes in the finger ends, he will " see " what 

 is the extent of the fracture of the ilium or of the neck of that bone ; 

 to what part of the central portion of the bone (the acetabulum) it 

 reaches; whether this is free from disease or not, and in what loca- 

 tion on the floor of the pelvis the lesion is situated. By this method 

 we have frequently been able to detect a fracture at the symphysis, 

 which, from its history and symptoms and an external examination, 

 could only have been guessed at. Yet, with all its advantages, the 

 rectal examination is not always necessary, as, for example, when the 

 fracture is at the posterior and external angle of the ischium, when 

 by friction of the bony ends the surgeon may discern the crepitation 

 without it. 



Every variety of complication, including muscular lacerations with 

 the formation of deep abscesses and injuries to the organs of the 

 pelvic cavity, the bladder, the rectum, and the uterus, may be associ- 

 ated with fractures of the hip bone. 



Prognosis. — The prognosis of these lesions will necessarily vary 

 considerably. A fracture of the most superficial part of the bone of 

 the ilium or of the ischium, especially if there is little displace- 

 ment, will unite rapidly, leaving a comparatively sound animal often 

 quite free from subsequent lameness. If there is much displacement, 

 however, only a ligamentous union will take place, with much de- 

 formity and more or less irregularity in the gait. Other fractures 

 may be followed by complete disability of the patient, as, for ex- 

 ample, when the cotyloid cavity is involved, or when the reparatory 

 process has left bony deposits in the pelvic cavity at the seat of the 

 union, which may, in the case of the female, interfere with the steps 

 of parturition, or induce some local paralysis by pressure upon the 

 nerves which govern the muscles of the hind legs. This is a condi- 

 tion not infrequently observed when the callus has been formed on 

 the floor of the pelvis near the obturator foramen, pressing upon the 

 course or involving the obturator nerve. 



Treatment. — In our estimation, the treatment of all fractures 

 of the hip bone should be of the simplest kind. Rendered compara- 

 tively immovable by the thickness of the muscles by which the region 

 is enveloped, one essential indication suggests itself, and that is to 

 place the animal in a position which, so far as possible, will be fixed 

 and permament. For the accomplishment of this purpose the best 

 measure, as we consider it, is to place the horse in a stall of just 

 sufficient width to admit him, and to apply a set of slings, snugly, 

 but comfortably. (See Plate XXXI.) This will fulfill the essential 

 conditions of recovery — rest and. immobility. Blistering applica- 

 tions would be injurious, though the adhesive mixture might prove in 

 some degree beneficial. 



