346 DISEASES OP THE HOUSE. 



numbers in insufficient space. It is a matter of observation that 

 under these circumstances fractures of the incomplete kind are those 

 which occur on the inside of the leg, the bone being in that region 

 almost entirely subcutaneous, while those of the complete class are 

 either oblique or transverse. The least common are the longitudinal, 

 in the long axis of the bone. 



Symptoms. — This variety of fracture is easily recognized by the 

 appearance of the leg and the different changes it undergoes. There 

 is inability to use the limb; impossibility of locomotion; mobility 

 below the injury ; the ready detection of crepitation — in a word, the 

 assemblage of all the signs and symptoms which have been already 

 considered as associated with the history of broken bones. 



The fracture of the ulna alone, principally above the ra^io-ulnar 

 arch, may be ascertained by the aggravated lameness, the excessive 

 soreness on pressure, and perhaps a certain increase of motion, with 

 a very slight crepitation if tested in the usual way. Displacement 

 is not likely to take place except when it is well up toward the ole- 

 cranon or its tuberosity, the upper segment of the bone being in that 

 case likely to be drawn upward. For a simple fracture of this region 

 there is a fair chance of recovery, but in a case of the compound 

 and comminuted class there is less ground for a favorable prognosis, 

 especially if the elbow joint has suffered injury. A fracture of the 

 ulna alone is not of serious importance, except when the same con- 

 ditions prevail. A fracture of the olecranon is less amenable to 

 treatment, and promises little better than a ligamentous union. 



Treatment. — Considering all the various conditions involving the 

 nature and extent of these lesions, the position and direction of the 

 bones of the forearm are such as to render the chances for recovery 

 from fracture as among the best. The reduction, by extension and 

 counterextension ; the maintenance of the coaptation of the segments; 

 the adaptation of the dressing by splints, oakum, and agglutinative 

 mixtures; in fact, all the details of treatment may be here fulfilled 

 with a degree.of facility and precision not attainable in any other part 

 of the organism. An important, if not an essential, poiat, however, 

 must be emphasized in regard to the splints. Whether they are of 

 metal, wood, or other material, they should reach from the elbow joint 

 to the ground, and should be placed on the posterior face and on both 

 sides of the leg. This is then to be so confined in a properly con- 

 structed box as to preclude all possibility of motion, while yet it must 

 sustain a certain portion of the weight of the body. The iron splint 

 (represented in Plate XXX) recommended by Bourgelat is designed 

 for fractures of the forearm, of the knee, and of the cannon bone, and 

 will prove to be an appliance of great value. For small animals the 

 preference is for an external covering of gutta-percha, embracing the 

 entire leg. A sheet of this substance of suitable thickness, according 



