or*) 



DISEASES OF RONE. 



As ;i rule, when iiiilammatidu friiui wiu'k nr sprniii (the eases 

 we are at. piesciit eonsidering) nccurs ill a joint snffieiently to 

 jiei'mauentlv inijiair its power of movement, adhesions will he 

 fiiund about the part, and, prohaMy also, shortening of the liga- 

 ments whieh antagonise the extension of the joint, and, in tlie ease 

 of the fetloek, eheek the descent of the fetlock pad. The further 

 progress of these cases will generally be deposition of bone aliout 

 tlio part, and the gradual conversion into bone of the fibrous 

 structures and cartilages of the joint. A return to soundness is 

 ]iossil)le only when the articular cartilages (p. 2(58) have remained 

 intact, and any Ijony deposit which may have taken jilacc, is so 

 situated as not to interfere with the movement of the joint. At 



I'ig. 103. — Extreme direct flexion of fetlock joint. 



the same time, surgical interference need not be restricted to 

 obtaining soundness ; Ijut may also be applied to increasing the 

 usefulness of a limb. Not infrequently the inflammrttion of the 

 fetlock joint has been caused, or complicated, by fracture of one 

 or both of the sesamoid bones, at the back of the fetlock, in which 

 case there will be no hope of restoring to the joint its former 

 healthv action. 



TREATMENT. — In hopefitl cases, namely those in which the 

 articular cartilages are healthy, and no deposit of bone iirterferes 

 with movement, the problem is the same as that which the human 

 surgeon has in restoring normal mobility to an elbow which, on 

 recovering from a dislocation, has remained at rest in a bent 

 position for too long a time, but without suffering from diseased 



