480 
ROSCOE R. BELL. 
have struck the spot.” To make your diagnosis more certain, 
a twitch is placed upon the animal’s nose to fasten his attention, 
with the result that he will only flinch when pain is experi¬ 
enced, and not from irritability. Manipulation of each bicipital 
groove under these conditions gives the result that upon the 
affected side a quick spasmodic movement is made when pres¬ 
sure is applied, while no sign of inconvenience is given on 
the opposite side. 
While every case will not give the identical symptons above 
detailed, each one will resemble it to the extent of recognition. 
They came upon me with such frequency that I became 
alarmed for the accuracy of my diagnoses, and upon each visit 
to such a patient, I would endeavor to test it by a closer scrutiny 
for new developments; but always with a clearer conviction of 
its correctness. I would consult other veterinarians with the 
interrogation, “ Do you meet many cases of lesion in the 
shoulder?” The answer “No” is mostly given. Through 
the years lying between my first recognition of it and the 
present time it has been a constant form of lameness in my 
practice—as frequently met as any other one locomotory lesion, 
it being not an infrequent circumstance to have six or eight 
under treatment at one time. 
In no instance has the diagnosis been proven to be errone¬ 
ous. I have known many veterinarians to disagree with me, 
claiming that the lesion was at some other part of the leg, but 
it was an opinion without demonstration, ocularly or otherwise. 
I am thoroughly convinced that I and others have blistered, and 
fired and blistered, many horses for what we were pleased to 
term periostitis, or other obscure bony lesion, usually in the 
region of the pastern or foot, when we could not have gotten 
further from the real seat of the trouble unless we had gone be¬ 
neath the sole. The period of rest induced by the blistering 
having been sufficient to dissipate the trouble in the bicipital 
groove, we gathered about us our cloak of conviction that we 
had justified our diagnosis. 
What is the cause of this frequent lameness ? Answer : It 
