LAMINITIS AND NAVICULAR DISEASE. 
817 
cular and highly sensitive tissues in the whole body. This 
condition I presume you concede; then I go on a step 
further, and lay down the principle which I believe all 
physiologists are agreed upon, that the rapidity with which 
intense inflammatory action destroys the vitality of tissue is 
in an exact ratio with that tissue being in a high or low 
state of organization. Are we agreed upon this point? If so, 
we will proceed to the next step, and put the third question. 
What is Inflammation, and its results ? 
Inflammation may be said to be perverted natural action,— 
congested capillary system in the part affected—causing 
swelling, heat, redness, and pain ; the results or terminations 
are resolution, suppuration, ulceration, tumefaction, and 
mortification. Now, it has been my lot to be daily occupied 
with cases of lameness during the last thirty years, having 
had four forges during a considerable period of that time. I 
have been constantly engaged with lame horses, suffering from 
sandcracks, treads, bruises, crushes, pricks, nail-bounds, &c., 
(Sic., and it has been an everyday occurrence to witness the pro¬ 
gress, step by step, of the phenomena of inflammation proper. 
Nothing can be more familiar to a veterinary surgeon with 
large shoeing experience than lame horses, some from in¬ 
juries with nails; let us take this case for our illustration. 
The point of the nail penetrates and wounds the highly 
organized tissues, or it may be two or three nails have thick 
holds, and bind upon these sensitive laminae. What is the 
result? Pain, lameness, inflammation ,—inflammation proper. 
And what follows ? This natural high state of vascularity is 
intensified, the inflammation runs its stages rapidly; in three 
days suppuration has taken place. Exhaustion of vitality 
and death of these highly organized tissues follows, not so 
much because they are between two hard surfaces so much as 
owing to their extreme vitality. You rasp the hoof thin, as 
thin as tissue paper, opposite to the decaying laminae; you 
remove it, and give exit to the imprisoned matter, and there 
you find that the laminae contiguous to the wounded portion 
are all dead and decaying from inflammation, and also a small 
portion of bone exfoliating. These are evidences that cannot 
be disputed as pure results of true inflammation ; it is what 
practical experience teaches. Allow the decaying tissues to 
slough away, and all is soon well; but in this severe 
inflammatory action, the true nature of which is positive 
and cannot be controverted, we have had no laminitis 
proper, or exudation. We will next inquire— 
