58 M. DUPUY ON THE OPERATION OF NEUROTOMY. 
stated, we have no fear of having recourse to neurotomy 
against affections very different at the first glance, but which 
consist in an excess, of nutrition, and of the nature and seat of 
which we are consequently well acquainted. We have par¬ 
ticularly performed it twice for exostosis, occupying all the 
anterior face of the smaller pastern. We will terminate our 
reflections by relating these two cases, because they have fur¬ 
nished us with occasion to apply the principles we have de¬ 
veloped of adapting the mode of operation to the seat of 
disease. 
We performed these operations at the school during the 
present April 1830. The subjects of them were two draught 
horses: the disease was the same in both of them; it consisted 
of a uniform, hard, and bony tumour over all the anterior face of 
the small pastern of the fore leg. 
Instead of cutting the two plantar nerves, or cutting' only one 
above the fetlock, it appeared to us much better to operate only 
on those branches which go to the seat of the evil. Acting on 
this principle, we excised on the pastern, half an inch from each 
of the anterior digitated branches. Our operation was crowned 
with complete success. These animals, on whom cauterization 
and other ordinary means had been vainly tried, ceased to go 
lame, and have been since that time capable of full work. 
We will here conclude this article: we have attained our end 
if we have proved that the history of neurotomy is yet imper¬ 
fect; that the operation ought to vary with the seat of the 
disease; that sometimes it is necessary to cut the two plantar 
nerves, sometimes only one; at other times a division of one of 
them, or of each of them; that on these nerves depend alike 
the nutrition and the sensibility of the parts to which they are 
given; that the diseases which require neurotomy may be very 
different, provided that they are caused by an alteration of the 
assimilating process; that, to clear up all that belongs to this 
operation, it is important to determine by experience, whether 
after the excision the two ends of the nerve will re-unite, how 
this re-union is accomplished, and what is the nature and the 
properties of the substance which is produced. What time it 
takes to form it; what changes happen during that time and 
afterwards; the sensibility of the foot, its general shape and 
volume; that of the tumours of every kind which can exist 
below the section; and lastly, the secretion of the horn. 
We had terminated this article, when, making some researches 
on this subject, we read page 40 of the account of the school at 
Alfort, for the year 1821, as follows: 
A professor of the Veterinary College of London has ima- 
