616 OPRRATIONS ON THE FOOT. 



The branch of the shoe in this case requires a greater thickness. 

 "Whatever may be the mode of shoeing used much advantage can 

 be obtained by the application of a sole of leather or of gutta 

 percha. 



Sandcbacks. 



Seime of the French ; Sornspalt of the Germans ; Fissura 

 of the Italians — are fissures or solutions of continuity observed 

 on the walls of the foot, ordinarily very narrow, which f oUow the 

 direction of the horn. Principally observed on the hoof of soU- 

 peds, it has been seen also in ruminants, but rarely, and of Httle 

 importance. 



I. Division. — They may exist on every part of the wall. On 

 the median line of the nail they are called toe-crack, and then are 

 more frequent on the hind feet. They are rarely found on the 

 outside or inside toe (the mamelles of the French), but commonly 

 met with on the quarter (quarter-crocks), then situated on the 

 lateral parts of the wall, toward the heels, and more frequently on 

 the fore feet, especially on the inside. They are sometimes obUque, 

 relatively to the thickness of the wall. Cracks are superficial or 

 deep, according to the thickness of the wall involved. They are 

 complete when they extend from the coronary band down to the 

 plantar border ; incomplete when more limited. In this last case, 

 those which do not extend up to the skin are the more disposed 

 to recovery, and will grow down with the growth of the wall, 

 while those which extend to the coronary band are more serious, 

 being continually aggravated as the growth of the hoof progresses. 

 According to the date of their formation, they are called recent 

 and old. Simple cracks are those which only involve the wall ; 

 they are complicated where there is more or less serious lesion of 

 the tissues beneath, such as inflaimnation of the laminae, hemor- 

 rhage, or caries of the bone. A serious complication is that of 

 keraphylooele. 



II. Symptoms. — Often the solution of continuity is the only 

 one observed, and it is the special characteristic of the disease. 

 But the fissure may be masked, either accidentally or by design. 

 It may be concealed by the hairs, by the mud, or covered by hoof- 

 ointment, tar, wax, or even a putty of gutta-percha. Concealed 

 internal cracks have sometimes been discovered, such as fissures 

 involving the internal face of the wall, which, consequently, were 



