646 
DISEASE OF OSSEOUS TISSUE IN THE HORSE. 
disease on the first opportunity that presents itself, and I 
feel sure that he will let me know the result.” 
That such diseases of the bones of the horse are rare in 
England, I think no one will deny. I have no doubt, how¬ 
ever, but they occur oftener than we are aware of. I well 
remember some specimens of similarly diseased bones being 
laid before the members of the <f Veterinary Medical Asso¬ 
ciated, ” by Mr. E. Shave, M.R.C.V.S...Chelmsford, Essex. By 
referring to ( The Record of the Transactions of the Society/ 
for the year 1849, page 86, the following particulars will be 
found, as given by Mr. Shave: ei The horse was brought to 
our infirmaiy in May, with an enlargement of the superior 
maxillary bones. Such treatment as was at that time 
thought proper was adopted, and at the end of about four 
months the owner sent the horse to us again, and upon 
examination we found the enlargement had much increased. 
Other treatment was had recourse to, but was found not to 
be attended with the slightest benefit. It was now found 
that he masticated very imperfectly ; he fell off in condition, 
and at last became so much emaciated, that the owner had 
him destroyed.” 
The president of the Association admitted that the disease 
was singular, and that he had not before met with the osseous 
tissue in a similar condition, and he requested Mr. Shave 
to obtain the other bones of the horse. This having been 
done, it appeared that there was scarcely a bone in the whole 
animal that was not implicated in the change. In the 
articulations, extensive ulcerations had taken place, which 
accounted for the pain and lameness during the animal’s 
progression. 
I have still in my possession a portion of the lower 
jaw of this horse, which I took care to obtain at the time; 
and I find by an examination of it, that the whole of the 
H aversian canals are dilated, and their surrounding lamellae 
extremely thin. I feel satisfied that the disease affecting 
this bone is of the same character as that of Mr. Champion’s 
horses. There were doubtlessly many peculiarities which 
were not then noticed in Mr. Shave’s case, as the bony tissue 
was not examined by the microscope. Their spongy texture, 
however, with their gradual increase in size, the inability 
experienced by the animal to masticate, and his emaciated 
condition, all warrant this conclusion. Unfortunately we 
were not then put in possession of the way in which the 
horse was fed, or the character of the water he drank; nor 
did we know whether a similar disease had before affected 
animals in that neighbourhood. 
