THE LOCOMOTOR SYSTEM. 245 



CHAPTER XI.— THE LOCOMOTOR SYSTEM. 



Thi bones of the dog are light in build, but strong and 

 with well-defined processes. As the union of epiphyses 

 with the shaft occurs some considerable time after birth it is 

 not rare to find apparent fracture from a breaking through 

 their cartilaginous bond of union. This must be always 

 remembered in dealing with very young animals, in which 

 especially fracture is liable to occur. Repair under these 

 circumstances is effected with remarkable rapidity, indeed 

 by the simple process of normal bone formation ; care is, 

 however, required to ensure proper direction of the limb 

 during union of the parts. 



True Fracture is very common in dogs, as they are 

 very liable to blows and to injuries of various sorts, as 

 when they are run over by a carriage or fall from a con- 

 siderable height. The small size of dogs enables us to 

 manipulate their limbs when injured freely and to reduce 

 fractures and dislocations such as in the horse, for instance, 

 would be quite incurable. The fact that dogs are very 

 clever and careful in saving injured limbs is also in favour 

 of securing repair. Diagnosis is generally very simple 

 from the abnormal mobility of the injured part, and from 

 the clear and well-defined arrangement of the limb muscles 

 and bones. Crepitus, deformity, and, later, inflammation, 

 are detectable. The causes of fractures in dogs are direct 

 violence, as blows, kicks, falls from a moving carriage or 

 from the high window of a room in which they have been 

 shut, and so on. The bones of the limbs are the most 

 frequent seat of injury, but cases are on record of fracture 

 for almost every bone of the body. In variety, treatment, 

 and processes of repair these injuries to the skeleton of 

 the dog differ in no respect from those of other animals. 



