DISEASES OF THE CLAWS IN CATTLE AND SHEEP. 
821 
scarcely of an inch, and is considerably shorter than the outer on account of 
the sole sloping obliquely upwards to become continuous with it. 
The horny sole also has a thickness of about ^ of an inch, and reaches 
from the toe to the posterior third of the ground surface of the claw, where it 
becomes continuous with the wall. Above the wall, and between it and the 
tendon of the flexor pedis perforans, is a mass of firm connective tissue, to 
some extent corresponding to the fibro-fatty frog, and containing a large quantity 
of fat. 
The pedal-joint (fig. 312) lies near the centre between the toe and hall of 
the foot, its middle point (b) being somewhat nearer to the toe than to the 
wall, and about f of an inch below the coronary border of the wall. A straight 
line drawn obliquely from the front of the interdigital space to the termination 
of the horny sole in the walls would nearly coincide with the lower border of 
the joint (figs. 312, 313). The posterior end of the os pedis lies between c 
and d in figs. 312, 313, behind c lies the navicular bone, which completes the 
formation of the pedal-joint. 
The coronet-joint is generally about f of an inch above the coronary border 
of the wall of the claw ; the position of the fetlock can, of course, he determined 
by palpation. 
In each claw the tendon of the flexor pedis perforans forms with the 
Fig. 312.—Vertical section of an ox’s claw. 
navicular hone, close in front of its insertion into the os pedis, a buiba 
which corresponds to the bursa podotrochlearis of the horse. This lies over 
the posterior part of the horny sole, about the point where it becomes 
continuous with the bulb of the heel. 
The sensitive wall and sole differ little from the corresponding portions of 
the horse’s hoof, though the coronary hand is broader, and readies downwards 
almost to the middle of the horny wall. The sensitive sole presents a general 
resemblance to that of the horse, but the postero-internal portion possesses a 
modified subcutis, somewhat analogous to the sensitive frog. The surface of 
the sole may be divided into toe and bulbs, a fact which accounts for the 
severity of all suppurating processes in the bulbar portion. The coronary 
hand is broader than in the horse, and extends downwards for almost half 
the depth of the visible horn wall. Between the claws the coronary band 
becomes continuous with the skin, which is hairless, and coveied with a 
thick hut slightly horny epidermis. Above this, i.e., between the coronet 
hones, lies a large pad of fat, which is continued downwards under the inner 
horn wall, and assists the movement of the claws over one another. 
The bone of the claw (os pedis) is united to the coronet and fetlock bones 
by two internal and external ligaments, and through the former to the 
reinforcing band of the extensor pedis (ligamentum extensorum), whilst the 
cruciform or interdigital ligaments unite the two claws and prevent their being 
