554 THE DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF TENDINOUS STRUCTURE 
Concerning the flexor tendons I shall be enabled to speak with 
more certainty. “ Sprung tendon” is commonly said to be a sprain 
of those parts, or a sprain of the suspensory ligament, which last 
conjecture, I think, is the more generally received. It is, however, 
neither one nor the other, in any absolute sense. But, as I am 
anticipating my subject, permit me, first, to notice other matters 
connected with the flexor muscles. When the horse is standing, 
a very great portion of the weight of the body is through the 
navicular and sessamoid bones transferred to the flexor tendons : 
indeed, these tendons, or even one of them, the perforans, seems 
capable of preserving the natural obliquity of the pastern, which 
in the dead limb will be maintained, although the suspensory liga- 
ment and the perforatus tendon have been divided. The ligaments 
of the pastern joints offer considerable resistance, or co-operate in 
keeping the bones in their natural positions, as also do the suspen- 
sory and the sessamoideal ligaments; but, as I before said, a very 
considerable amount of that weight which the fore extremities sup- 
port is imposed upon the flexor tendons. It is important to know 
whether the strain upon the tendon is communicated to the mus- 
cular substance ; for, if such can be demonstrated to be the case, 
all my previous assertions fall to the ground. 
To ascertain this fact, let the muscular belly proper to the flexor 
tendon be dissected off. I have done this frequently, and find the 
removal in no way affects the obliquity of the pastern ; but when 
the foot is afterwards pressed upon the ground, the pastern remains 
in its normal position, and the back sinews become as firm and 
tense as in the living animal. If the dissection be now proceeded 
with, there will be discovered, intimately connected with the syno- 
vial membrane, two ligamentous bands, the superior of which 
arises from the inferior and posterior of the radius, and the inferior 
of which takes its origin from the lower row of the carpal bones 
and from the posterior surface of the superior extremity of the 
cannon. These two ligamentous bands proceed downwards, and 
are about six inches in length. Their structure more nearly re- 
sembles ligament than tendon : their fibres are less compact, and 
are mingled with a much larger amount of cellular tissue than can 
be discerned in tendon : they both blend with the flexor tendons, 
the superior behind the knee and the inferior at a point answering 
to the centre of the large metacarpal bone ; but the superior is 
more obviously connected to the perforatus, to which the inferior 
sepds but few fibres. 
When the foot is pressed upon the ground, these ligamentous 
bands are rendered tense, while that portion of the flexor tendon 
located above the os trapezium is no way affected, however great 
the force employed. The use of these bands, then, is obvious ; 
