384 
A. ZUNDEL. 
moulded on each other so as to cover and conceal the true crack. 
III. Comjilicatiojis .—Amongst these we may first mention 
the inflammation of the recticular tissue, which is first pinched 
and injured. This may be followed by suppuration and local 
gangrene. Very often the disease is followed by necrosis of the 
os pedis, and caries of varying depth. In toe-crack, cases have 
been seen of caries of the tendon of the anterior extensor of the 
phalanges, and even arthritis, though rarely occurring, has been 
observed. In quarter-crack, one may have cartilaginous quittor 
and suppurative corns. As before stated, these lesions are indi¬ 
cated by the severity of the lameness, the presence of the blood 
or pus through the crack, and the extreme sensibility of the part. 
It is especially when, in the course of treatment, a part of the 
hoof has been removed, that the keratogenous apparatus has been 
exposed, that the abnormal coloration of the podophyllous tissue 
is seen, in its swollen condition and its sensibility to pressure, ac¬ 
companied with the presence of the pus or sanious discharge, and 
at times the necrosis of the bone. Sometimes, also, foreign sub¬ 
stances, as dirt or gravel, may be found introduced in the cracks, 
and acting as causes of irritation to the sensitive tissues below. 
A complication, not so frequent, however, according to some 
authors, is that known as Keraphyllocele, and which consists in 
an hypersecretion of horn, from the coronary band on the inside 
of the crack. Sometimes the horny growth remains separate 
from the borders of the crack, and is adherent to the wall only 
by its base, towards the coronary band ; this is especially the 
case when the wall has been thinned down or partly removed. 
In other cases it is adherent to the two borders of the crack, and 
this forms a natural cicatrix. This horny column of varying 
length and strength, according to its age, presses upon the tissues 
beneath, and gives rise to severe lameness. With time there is 
corresponding atrophy of the podophyllous tissue, or even of the 
os pedis. This is often followed by a marked deformity of the 
hoof, and especially a deep fissure, parallel to the direction of 
the crack. The soft tissues under the keraphyllocele often, in 
time, become harder, in consequence of the disappearance of the 
papillae; the hoof then is no longer adherent to the tissues 
