274 DISEASES OF THE BONES AND ARTICULATIONS. 



ushered in by a chill. We may see a more or less rapid develop- 

 ment of a swelling of the joint, which is extremely painful. The 

 joint is kept in a bent or flexed position, and the patient walks 

 on three feet. We may also see an oedematous swelling extending 

 both above and below in tne neighborhood of the joint. The 

 temperature is considerably increased in some cases; the skin ap- 

 pears normal or reddened, sometimes even bluish-red. The pus 

 may eventually break through the skin in the neighborhood of the 

 joint, or it may lie in the joints, become absorbed, and cause 

 pyaemia. 



This termination will perhaps occur even when the pus has 

 broken out externally, and in some cases where the inflammation 

 has been very acute we may have a subsequent adhesion of the 

 joiat (ankylosis). 



Etiology. Suppuration of the joints is frequently produced 

 by infected wounds at or near the joint. In rare instances it may 

 be the result of a phlegmonous inflammation in the neighborhood 

 of the joint; concussion or crushing may also cause it, or it may 

 occur in a metastatic way. Such inflammations of the joints may 

 also occur as a purely suppurating inflammation; but, as a rule, 

 they are sero-fibrinous or sero-purulent, and with it we may see 

 purulent centres of abscesses, or pysemia, abscesses forming in the 

 glands, or the development of the disease in several joints at the 

 same time, or at short intervals. The author saw metastatic sup- 

 puration of the joints of the knee, carpus, and toes. 



Rheumatic Inflammation of the Joints. 



{RheumatlG Arthritis.) 



This form of disease of the joints seems to be caused by cold, 

 especially in shooting dogs, if used in cold weather or during winter, 

 when they become very wet and lie around in a draught. It has 

 also been ascribed to be due to a specific infectious substance, and 

 this is brought out in animals that take cold. There are two 

 forms of this disease : an acute and chronic form. The former 

 appears in a serous, but more rarely sero-purulent synovitis, accom- 

 panied by great pain and high fever. The lameness is much greater 

 than in any other form of joint-irritation. Very often several 

 joints become diseased at one time, or the disease may go from one 



