DISLOCATION OF THE FEMUR. 
499 
the obturator foramen. The dislocation was complete. The 
round ligament must have been ruptured, and it behoved me 
to look for any complication by fracture. I had the limb 
alternately drawn backwards and forwards; it was more 
readily stretched in the latter direction. I had it moved up- 
wards and downwards, but could detect no Crepitation, or 
other sign of fracture. The shaft of the bone was sound. 
My opinion as to the probable issue of the case was exces- 
sively unfavorable, but I was urged to adopt all available 
means, if any treatment could be attempted, as the cow was 
too poor to slaughter, and valuable as a milker. The diffi- 
culty of reduction could be surmounted, as previous expe- 
rience had taught me, but I had little faith in retaining the 
bones in their proper place. I thought that should the 
operation be fraught with little good, no harm could attend 
it, and, in case of failure, I trusted to the formation of a false 
joint, and that the animal would live comfortably, and fatten 
for the butcher. 
On the morning of Tuesday, at ten o’clock, accompanied 
by Messrs. Field and Farrell, l proceeded to Gilmore Park 
Dairy. The cow was in the same condition ; and, having 
procured the assistance of eight or ten men, I attempted 
reduction in the following manner: — A good bed of straw 
was made in the cow’s own stall ; she was turned with her 
hips towards a stout partition post, and chained to the latter 
by means of an ordinary cart-horse’s breeching The latter 
was made to pass between the thighs, stretching over the 
antero-inferior spine of the ilium on the right side and over 
the left ischiatic notch ; the broad part of the breeching came 
therefore to press over the pubis. The three sound legs were 
tied together, the head held secure, and two ropes, from 
which to operate counter-extension, were fixed, the one round 
the pastern and the other above the hock, the skin being 
protected by a smooth cloth. A rope was next passed round 
the thigh, so as to catch the upper third of the femur; it was 
connected with a pulley suspended from a cross beam. It 
acted as a fulcrum, and the ends of the femur constituted 
respectively the arms of resistance and force of a lever of the 
first order. To Mr. Field I entrusted the pulley rope, so as 
to modify the abduction or adduction of the femur at will. 
I requested all free hands to pull steadily on the limb, and 
ordered them to move to and fro all of one accord, just as I 
required them. The muscular tension was thus effectually 
overcome ; and, by bodily weighing on the lower end of the 
tibia, the femoral trochanter was pressed outwards and 
forwards to its proper situation, without much difficulty, and 
