846 DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 
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 radio-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, point, 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 
