SPBAIN OF ELBOW MUSCLES. 343 



veratrin (the variety insoluble in water) mixed in 2 drams of water, 

 etc., will find their place, and finally, when necessity demands it, the 

 firing iron and the seton. 



The duration of the treatment must be determined by its effects and 

 the evidence that may be offered of the results following the action of 

 the reparative process. But the great essential condition of cure, and 

 the one without which the possibility of relapse will always remain as 

 a menace, is, as we have often reiterated in analogous cases, rest, 

 imperatively rest, irrespective of any other prescriptions with which 

 it may be associated. 



SPBAIN OF THE ELBOW MUSCLES. 



Causes. — This injury, which fortunately is not very common, is 

 mostly encountered in cities, among heavy draft horses or rapidly 

 driven animals which are obliged to travel, often smooth shod, upon 

 slippery, icy, or greasy pavements, where they are easily liable to loSe 

 their foothold. The region of the strain is the posterior part of the 

 shoulder, and the muscles which are affected are those which occupy 

 the space between the posterior border of the scapula and the pos- 

 terior face of the arm. It is the muscles of the olecranon which give 

 way. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when 

 the animal is in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal, or 

 by close scrutiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. The leg may 

 seem to drop ; the elbow may appear to be loWer than its fellow, with 

 the knee and lower part of the leg flexed and the foot resting on 

 the toe, with the heel raised. Such an attitude, however, may be 

 occasionally assumed by an animal without having any special signifi- 

 cance. But when it becomes more pronounced on putting him in 

 motion the fact acquires a symptomatic value, and this is the case in 

 the present instance. A rapid gait becomes quite impossible, and the 

 walk, as in some few other diseases, becomes sufficiently characteristic 

 to warrant a diagnosis even when observed from a distance. An 

 entire dropping of the anterior part of the trunk becomes manifest, 

 and no weight is carried on the disabled side, in consequence of the 

 loss of action in the suspensory muscles. There are often heat, pain, 

 and swelling in the muscular mass at the elbow, though at times a 

 hollow, or depression, may be observed near the posterior border of 

 the scapula, which is probably the seat of injury. 



These hurts are of various degrees of importance, varying from 

 mere minor casualties of quick recovery to lesions which are of suffi- 

 cient severity to render an animal useless and valueless for life. 



Treatment.— The prime elements of treatment, which should be 

 strictly observed, are rest and quiet. Prescriptions of all kinds, of 

 course, have their advocates. Among them are ether, chloroform, 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



