Osteomalacie 423 



It has little real significance, so far as the well being of the 

 mare or foal is concerned, and tends to disappear shortly after 

 parturition. It may be largely avoided, during the period of 

 pregnancy, by careful attention to the diet and the allowance of 

 regular exercise. It is usually not seen in those mares which 

 are kept at moderate work regularly, run at pasture, or are other- 

 wise kept constantly out of doors where they may take natural 

 exercise. This condition should not be confounded with rupture 

 of the prepubian tendon or the infiltration of the abdominal floor 

 leading thereto. 



Osteomalacie. 



Osteomalacie is described by numerous European writers as a 

 common disease of pregnant animals. It does not differ, appar- 

 ently, from the osteomalacie of non-pregnant animals but is 

 believed to be more common and severe in the pregnant animal. 

 Its chief interest to the obstetrist is the greater susceptibility to 

 the malady. In some instances, epizootics of osteomalacie have 

 been recorded in pregnant cows and other pregnant animals. 



St. Cyr attributes the malady to three chief causes: i. Defi- 

 cient quantity and quality of food. 2. The parturient, state. 3. 

 Prolonged lactation. 



The first, in conjunction with bad housing, is generally in- 

 voked to explain the occurrence of osteomalacie in non-pregnant, 

 as well as in pregnant animals. The second reason assigned, the 

 pregnant state, is generally recognized as a cause of osteomalacie. 

 The third cause is presumed to act merely by lowering the vital- 

 ity of the animal, and thereby increasing its susceptibility. 



The beginning of the malady is obscure. The pregnant cow 

 moves carefully, maintains the recumbent position more than 

 usual, and exhibits rheumatic symptoms. The appetite remains 

 good and fever is absent. 



Then follow fractures of a more or less spontaneous character ; 

 a slight misstep, a slip or even an effort to rise, serves as a 

 sufficient cause. The pelvis suffers most frequently and, in 

 many cases, is comminuted. Other bones — scapula, sterqum and 

 long bones — are less commonly broken. 



M. Germain reports the symptoms in the goat as consisting 

 primarily of paraplegia, followed by swelling of the jaws and loos^ 

 ening of the teeth in the alveoli, with difficult mastication. 



