CURVATURE OF THE SPINE. 
471 
The causes of such abnormalities cannot always be identified, but the 
conditions may be grouped as follows :— 
(1) Hereditary deformities. 
(2) Eesults of fractures and luxations of the spine. 
(3) Bhachitis, osteomalacia, caries, and other local diseases of the 
spine. 
The first are of the greatest interest, and are typified in the horse by 
lordosis. Although little amenable to treatment, this condition has a 
special interest from the prophylactic point of view. 
Lordosis develops during the first years of life, though occasionally 
it appears later. The predisposing cause is weakness due to abnormal 
length of the back. The extrinsic causes include all influences leading 
to continuous or excessive strain on the spinal column. Amongst these 
are the weight of the rider, distension of the colon by bulky food, or 
enlargement of the uterus consequent on pregnancy; mares which have 
repeatedly been bred from frequently suffer from lordosis. 
In foals, the condition may result from feeding from high mangers 
and racks, which throws increased strain on the extensors of the back 
and depresses the spinal column. 
The collective result is to bend the spinal column downwards. The 
ventral surfaces of the vertebrae become extended, the dorsal surfaces 
compressed. The animals being young, the lower portions of the 
vertebrae grow, while in the upper part growth is checked by the increased 
pressure, and therefore, as time elapses, the spine tends more and more 
to assume that particular form. This explains why in man work leads 
to kyphosis, in animals to lordosis. Special disease processes, like 
rhachitis, may favour the development of such deformities, but at present 
are little understood in animals. 
A second factor in the production of spinal curvature (Pott’s disease) 
is local disease of the vertebra, like caries, i.e., some chronic process 
accompanied by inflammation (osteomyelitis). Tuberculosis is, perhaps, 
the principal cause of such disease in man, but actinomycosis has also 
been recognised. Hess in a steer saw kyphosis, in consequence of tuber¬ 
culous disease between the second and third lumbar vertebrae. 
The greatest number of cases have been seen in oxen as a result of 
tuberculosis. Morot described twenty. Treatment is practically useless. 
Distortion following suppurating ostitis of one or more vertebrae is occa¬ 
sionally seen in animals, including the horse. The first cause is usually 
a deep-seated abscess, or a wound implicating the vertebral column. 
Treatment then consists in puncturing the abscess, removing loose frag¬ 
ments of bone, and continuously irrigating the parts with a disinfectant. 
So long as no signs of paralysis occur there is hope of recovery, though 
such cases are always prolonged and wearisome. Fractures and luxations 
