260 DISEASES OF BONE. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.— This disease appears to be 

 confined to no particular country, Altliough noticed chiefly in 

 Eastern Bengal, Ceylon, Singapore, and South China — all of which 

 places have a hot moist climate — I have seen a large number of 

 cases (all confined to one stud farm) in the native state of 

 Bahawulpore in the Punjab and a few in South Africa, the climate 

 of both these countries being dry and hot. To judge by the fact 

 that Friedberger and Frohner describe horses as suffering from 

 rickets but not from osteomalacia (osteoporosis), this disease 

 would ap'peax to be very rare on the Continent. It is found in 

 certain parts of North America, the Sandwich Islands, and 

 Australia. 



SYMPTOMS. — The characteristic swelling of the face appears 

 midway between the upper corner of the nostril and the eye (Fig. 

 100). The enlargement is diffuse ; though fairly well defined. 

 With very few exceptions, both sides of the face have been 

 affected. In the exceptional instances, which I saw only in their 

 early stage, the enlargement had appeared quite suddenly. There 

 is no definite rule as to the speed with which this growth increases. 

 There are instances in which it appeared very slightly ; remained 

 quiescent for some months ; and then rapidly increased until the 

 animal shortly afterwards died from the disease. In cases of 

 recovery, the enlargement of the face persists, unless the advance 

 of the malady be checked in a very early stage, when the swelling 

 may disappear. When the enlargement is well marked, it gives 

 the face a flattened and swollen appearance. The bones of the 

 lower jaw also are generally swollen. In the cases I have seen, 

 the bones of the face, below the eyes, were the only ones visibly 

 affected. 



The mucous membrane of the mouth appears swollen and pale, 

 and is covered with a copious supply of dirty-looking mucus. 

 With the advance of the disease in the bones of the lower jaw, 

 the teeth become loose. There are instances in young horses, of 

 dentition being retarded to a marked extent by this complaint; 

 that is to say, the mouth showed the animals to be a year or 

 more younger than they were. 



Soon after, and occasionally before, the swelling of the bones of 

 the face has become manifest, the animal may be observed to go 

 stiffly " all round ; " and the consequent lameness is generally 

 associated with well-marked loss of condition. In the usual 

 course, this stiffness will soon unmistakably assume the character 

 of general paralysis, which, according to some authorities, is due 

 to the bones becoming so wanting in tenacity that they lose their 

 power of affording sufficiently firm attachment for the various 



