190 
FliACTUllE OF THE HUMERUS. 
point of the elbow, the injured limb was found to measure 
three quarters of an inch less than the other, but this might 
be referred principally to the wasting of the muscles. With 
this exception, and a slight turn of the elbow outwards, 
nothing now exists to denote the occurrence of so serious a 
lesion. 
Upon this case Assistant-Professor Yarnell remarks that, 
when I was requested to see the animal, Mr. Sewell in- 
formed me that he had not the slightest doubt as to the 
nature of the lameness, being, as he said, fully satisfied 
that the humerus was fractured, but that both himself 
and the owner preferred having another opinion before they 
decided as to what step should be taken under the circum- 
stances. On my arrival at the stables I was shown into 
a large, loose box, w 7 here I found the patient lying on his 
left side, being the opposite one to that which was said to 
be injured. I had thus a very good opportunity of making 
an examination of the limb without altering the position of 
the animal. In the recumbent position, there were no visible 
indications of any lesion whatever, but having heard Mr. 
Sewell’s opinion as to the seat of injury, I at once directed my 
attention to that region of the fore extremity. The horse 
being very tranquil, I had a man placed at his head, with a 
view to keep him down, while I placed a second man at his 
affected limb, the lower part of which he was told to raise 
gently, my own hand being at the same time placed over the 
part of the bone where the fracture was believed to exist. 
By thus manipulating I was at once convinced of the cor- 
rectness of the diagnosis which had been given, as the 
movement of the limb conveyed to the hand the sensa- 
tion of crepitation, and which was fully confirmed on the 
application of the ear over the seat of fracture. Upon 
further examination, although the fracture w r as masked by 
large muscles which surround the bone, I was enabled to 
give an opinion that the fracture was transverse in its direc- 
tion, and that the divided ends of the bone were placed 
directly in apposition with each other. In this position they 
would be more likely to remain than had the fracture been 
in any other direction, such for example, as oblique or 
longitudinal. The ends of the divided bones in the latter 
named varieties of fracture generally pass each other, in con- 
sequence of the contraction of the muscles, thus causing 
immediate distortion of the limb, which is at once readily 
detected ; but this, as previously remarked, did not exist in 
this instance. I was inclined to take a favorable view of the 
case, my prognosis being based upon the following grounds : 
