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THE VETERINARIAN, NOVEMBER 1, 1850. 
Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. — C icero. 
Mr. COOPER — but a young member of our profession, though, as 
a practitioner of veterinary medicine and surgery, old in experience, 
gathered in a wide and fertile field of practice which he has long 
enjoyed, and still continues to enjoy the range of — has introduced 
to our notice a new operation, to which he shall take the liberty of 
giving the name of Ligotomy. Mr. Cooper, some time since, had 
occasion to perform the operation of tenotomy on a draught mare, 
who had, in consequence of a sprain she had received just be- 
low the knee, an enlargement in that part; whereof the effect 
eventually proved to be, owing to neglect of the case and con- 
tinuance of the mare, in spite of her ailment, at work, a crooked 
leg, which, at length, rendered her incapable of further labour. 
Mr. Cooper operated on her above the place of insertion into the 
flexor perforans tendon of the metacarpal ligament ; but, when he 
had divided the flexor tendons, he found the limb as rigid and re- 
sisting as before: this led him to examine the parts, when he 
discovered the metacarpal ligament to be “ considerably thickened.’’ 
He determined to divide that also ; the consequence of which 
turned out to be, that “ the limb directly came into its proper po- 
sition without any force at all being applied.” 
The above comprises the substance of an article from Mr. Cooper 
contained in our Number for June last. We this month have the 
pleasure of making public another communication from that gentle- 
man on the same subject, wherein he reminds us of a specimen of 
disease in the metacarpal ligament he was some short time ago so 
kind as to send for our inspection, which certainly did afford 
“ most indisputable evidence of thickening, enlargement, and ad- 
hesion of the said ligament, proving to have been the cause of the 
contracted sinews the tendons themselves being free from dis- 
ease, and drawn up or “ contracted” solely through the shortened 
and adherent condition of the metacarpal ligament. 
The fact of the occasional seat of the disease in question being 
