500 DISEASE or OSSEOUS TISSUE IN THE HORSE. 
elbow-joint on one side, and the shoulder-joint on the other, 
in consequence of the articular and capsular ligaments, and 
the tendons of those muscles which are attached near to 
these joints, becoming detached (as was found to be the case 
afterwards) from their bony connections, by the tearing away 
of portions of diseased bones. It was consequently thought 
desirable to have the horse destroyed on the spot, and the 
carcase brought to the College. 
We now proceeded to make a careful examination of both 
carcases, the most prominent features of which I will briefly 
describe. 
The structural changes that had taken place in the organs 
of both were so much alike that the description I am about 
to give of one will equally apply to both. The soft parts 
generally were paler than is natural, especially the muscles 
of those limbs which had been thrown out of use from the 
pain produced whenever any movement was attempted to be 
made. But in these structures I did not detect the slightest 
tendency to fatty degeneration. The fat generally had a 
mottled, watery appearance, which is very common in 
animals that are rapidly losing flesh, and this had been the 
case in a very marked degree with these, for a short time 
before they were destroyed. 
In disarticulating the limbs from the trunk, and also the 
several bones of each limb one from the other, the appear¬ 
ance of the interior of each joint was remarkable. In most 
instances, although not in all, the articular cartilage w r as of 
a dark slate colour, much thinner than natural, and in many 
places it was entirely lost. This was especially the case 
around the margin of the articulations, leaving the bone 
at that part quite exposed. The synovial membrane was 
considerably thickened, especially in those parts where it 
is most vascular. The quantity of synovia in each joint was 
small, of a dark colour, and in some cases mixed with clots 
of blood. The character of some of the articulating surfaces, 
however, was quite different. In such the articular cartilage 
was pale-coloured, and in some places of a palish yellow 
tint, velvety to the feel, and evidently containing fat; thereby 
indicating that the cartilage cells had disappeared and fat 
become deposited in their place. The ends of the bones were 
so much softened, that by applying a slight degree of force to 
the capsular or articular ligaments, small portions of the bone 
could easily be detached. The periosteal covering of all the 
flat and irregular, and also some parts of the long bones, 
was very vascular, and could easily be stripped off. The 
bones, generally, were likewise so very soft that they could 
