DISEASES AND INJURIES OF THE FOOT. 
411 
structures entering into its formation, or of both. Various the¬ 
ories, all having their admirers, have been advanced as to the 
particular part or parts of the joints which are involved in the 
diseased condition, the causes, etc., some claiming contraction of 
the hoof, others sprain of the perforans tendon, while others ad¬ 
vance the theory that it is due to rheumatoid diathesis. You all 
know the old saw, u when doctors disagree, who shall decide ? ” I 
shall certainly not attempt to, but will simply say that what¬ 
ever the primary cause may be, the exciting cause is from con¬ 
cussion, caused by hard or fast work, ovei hard roads or pave¬ 
ments as evidenced by its much greater frequency where such 
conditions prevail. The symptoms attendant upon its first ap¬ 
pearance are generally rather obscure, and may be said to be 
both negative and positive, the negative symptoms being the 
absence of disease or injury to any part of the limb. This be¬ 
ing the case, would limit the seat of the disease to the foot, and 
in the absence of any diagnostic symptoms in that part, it is 
well to use cocaine, hypodermically administered over the pos¬ 
terior branch of the plantar nerve, which will generally enable 
us to make a correct diagnosis. If the trouble is of recent oc¬ 
currence, rest, with the application of a poultice, followed by a 
blister around the coronet and heels and the use of a shoe with 
flat toe and raised heels for some time will very often effect a 
cure. But if the trouble has been present for some time, the 
safest and surest way to overcome it is by the operation of neu¬ 
rotomy, dividing the posterior branch of the plantar nerve. 
This will prove successful, I believe, in at least ninety per cent* 
of such cases. 
Heat Against Micro-organisms of Mirk.— Dr. J. Fors¬ 
ter, of Amsterdam, has prepared the following table as the re¬ 
sult of a large number of experiments on the time and tempera¬ 
ture required to destroy the micro-organisms of milk : 131° F. 
for four hours ; 140° F. for 1 hour; 149 0 F. for 15 minutes ; 
158° F. for 10 minutes ; 176° F* for 5 minutes ; 194 0 *F. for 2 
minutes; 203° F. for 1 minute* 
