The Osseous System 335 



fracture mostly in the lower extremity just above the trochleas where 

 the shaft is weakest. In fifty-four of Froehner's cases eighty-three 

 per cent were in the lower third. Fracture may also take place in 

 one or both condyles in one or both legs. Moeller quotes Stock- 

 fleth to the effect that in twenty-six cases observed by him nineteen 

 were of fractured condyles and the remainder of fractured shaft. 

 The external condyle is more frequently fractured than the internal, 

 and usually the displacement is not great, the fractured portion of 

 bone being retained near its normal position by the external lateral 

 ligament. 



Symptoms and Diagnosis. In fracture of the shaft or condyle 

 of one leg the animal moves about on three legs or sits on its 

 haunches without placing the injured member to the ground. When 

 the condyles of both legs are broken locomotion is peculiarly char- 

 acteristic, the animal either creeping or depending wholly on its 

 hind legs for propulsive power, kangaroo fashion. At rest, the 

 weight of the body is supported mainly by the haunches, the fore- 

 legs propped out in front. In severe bilateral fractures of leg-bones 

 a prone position is assumed. 



Treatment. Fracture of the shaft, being high up, is rather 

 difficult to treat, and if little displacement is evident is perhaps best 

 left to natural processes. In cases of much overriding, the wiring 

 operation should be performed. The lower extremity of the shaft 

 is more amenable to bandaging, and there is a belief that the joint 

 should be flexed to avoid imperfect reunion. Fractured condyle 

 should be bandaged with the joint in full extension. Healing of the 

 latter class of cases is apt to be imperfect through ligamentous 

 union. Hertwig states that perfect reunion is the rule in young 

 dogs. In one of Stockfleth's cases the animal regained complete 

 use of the leg, though the fractured portion became almost entirely 

 absorbed and the union was ligamentous. When ossific reunion 

 has taken place and the splints have been removed, there is usually 

 considerable stiffness, which, however, soon disappears with use 

 of the parts. 



The Radius and Ulna. These bones form the seat of about 

 one-half of all the fractures of the fore-legs, and from one-half to 

 two-thirds of these occur in the lower third of these bones. Usually 

 both bones are broken together. When one bone alone is concerned 

 it is generally the ulna and in the olecranon, owing to the prominence 



