LAMENESS. 
663 
lameness,” to be ulcerative disease of the navicular joint ; and in 
the year 1830, Mr. Goodwin, veterinary surgeon to her Majesty’s 
establishment, made a similar discovery in regard to spavin ; and 
both these discoveries were made known through papers published 
in the second and third volumes of The Veterinarian, to which 
we shall have occasion to draw the especial notice of our readers 
when we come to treat of those diseases in detail. Our intention 
at present is to make a few observations applying to ulcerative dis- 
ease of joints in general, as being one of the most frequent, the 
most grievous, and the most irremediable causes of lameness. 
It has frequently happened that a horse has been known to be 
lame, and lame too for a great length of time, and yet nothing un- 
natural to be detected either by the hand or by the eye in the lame 
limb : at one time he goes better, at another time worse — seldom 
so lame as not to be able to do some work ; and often, on that ac- 
count, being worked on until he becomes lame to that degree that, 
for shame’s sake — if not from humanity’s — his master cannot use 
him any longer : in which condition he is either submitted to some 
veterinary surgeon for treatment, or else shot as being no longer 
useful, or as being from neglect reduced to a state past redemption. 
The animal is destroyed, his lame limb examined, the joints of it 
dissected, and within their cavities marks of ulceration discovered. 
The secret is unravelled ; the horse went lame from ulcerative dis- 
ease of his joint. The natural inquiry to the mind of the dis- 
coverer now is, how came this ulceration here 1 — what is the history 
of it 1 — what the cause of it — the effects of it I — and what could or 
might have been done by way of cure or mitigation of it I informa- 
tion all leading to instruction how such cases are to be detected, 
and how they ought to be treated. 
The production of ulceration may happen in one of two 
ways : it may either be the effect of bruise or breach of the 
synovial membrane, or the consequence of inflammation excited in 
it. With a view of bringing to our aid in the solution of these 
interesting questions any observations afforded us by practice that 
bear upon them, let us make mention of some notorious enough to 
shut out all doubt as to their application, whatever difference of 
opinion any theorization upon them may give rise to. One of 
these facts is, that the ordinary seat of lameness arising from 
ulcerative disease in the fore limb is the navicular joint, in the 
hind limb the hock joint. Now, these are both joints likely in an 
especial degree to experience the effects of stress of work and con- 
cussion. The navicular joint, totally unable of itself to bear the im- 
press of weight of the body, is constructed upon that spring-like con- 
trivance that enables it to play up and down — descend and ascend 
— according as the weight presses hard upon it or not : its spring 
