H. S. DRAKE. 
470 
man * * * in England and throughout central Europe from 
erroneous habits of eating than from the habitual use of alcoholic 
drinks, considerable as I know that evil to be.” 
The proper proportions of food elements, the amount re¬ 
required, the palatability, digestibility and assimilability, of these 
has very much to do with the usefulness and economy of human 
and animal foods. 
(To be continued.') 
NAVICULAR DISEASE (NAVICULAR ARTHRITIS). 
By H. S. Drake, of Virginia. 
A Paper read before the Virginia State Veterinary Medical Association. 
The veterinary profession is indebted to Mr. Janies Turner 
for a knowledge of the seat and cause of the disease known as 
Navicular Arthritis. He first alludes to it in the year 1S16, 
and though eighty years have rolled away, little has been done 
since his day revealing new pathological or even etiological 
changes or discoveries. 
Etiology .—We comprehend more fully how navicular disease 
may be caused when we recall the peculiar anatomy of the parts 
involved in the process, and the function that is performed by 
locomotion. The anterior extremities have the bulk of the body 
weight to bear, and their support is by elastic sling muscles 
which bind the shoulder to the body, thus greatly dissipating 
the shock to the foot. Then the foot is composed of elastic 
material throughout, protecting the sensitive structure, but even 
this is not sufficient of itself to protect the foot from injury, so 
nature has further provided for exigency by placing the coffin 
joint on the posterior part of the coffin bone instead of directly 
on top of it, whereby a large part of the shock of locomotion is 
dispersed before it can reach the vertical column represented in 
the cannon, knee, and arm bones. In addition to these pro\ is- 
ions the frog, plantar cushion, flexor tendons, interarticuke 
cartilages and connective tissue are interposed to break the con¬ 
cussion and shock. 
