Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-04-04


MEDICAL COLLEGE AT BURLINGTON.
NO. X.
Before the commencement OF thlS lee
ture. President Buckham announced that,
in order that no medical student should be
deprived of the opportunity to hear these
lectures, the fee of five dollars, heretofore
fixed for the course, would not be eXacted; ;
but all were free to come and bring their
friends with them. In consequence, there
was an accession to the class of about sixty
medical students, who had before been
kept away.
NAVICULAR ARTHRITIS.
Prof. Cressy said that in the foot of the
horse we have three bones and three joints.
The bones are the pedal, or coffin bone !
the navicular, or shuttle bone, an the
coronet or lower pastern. The joints are
first, the coffin joint joining the pedal and
the coronet bones next the naviculo pedal
joining the shuttle and pedal bones, and
the naviculo joining the shuttle
and coronet bones.
In founder, the horse steps out striking
his feet on his heels. In navicular arthritiS
the horse steps short just like Il man who
is groggy, and on his toes, and the name
has come 10 be very generally adopted,
some of the best Scotch authorities so
naming it, This disease may be induced by
outward injury, as by stepping on angular
stones, in roads paved with trap rock,
when n point of stone may be driven be-
tween the frog and the sole, giving II di-
rect injury to the large ligament, causing
Inflammation, emulation and suppuration,
which, remaining long time, works
down through the bottom of the foot,
giving diseased condition known us
thrush, and this, after long standing, may
become IL fstua. In describing this, the
lecturer remarked that the frog is about
half as hard as the sole, and the sole about
half us hard Us the hooi.
Such cases us these cannot he cured by
applying some wash or n little ointment,
or by the treatment of some quack who
promises that the trouble can he cured in
twenty-iour hours. 1t is necessary to APP
ply the knife, making clean, clear open
inc into the cavity where the injury had
its origin, and then solution of carbolc
acid made by dssolving the crystals,
should be thrown up into the sore by a
syringe. This can be done when the foot
is down by having the nose of the syringe
slightly crooked.
Sometimes the sore appears back of and
above the hoo(; in such cases it is not IL
primary disease, but trouble resulting
from either lamintis or navicular arthritis.
Horses having tender, spongy feet, and
Il straight pastcrn are more liable to this
last disease A hard, wel-rounded foot,
with an oblique pastern, will rarely show
this trouble except from some mechanical
injury, the obllque pastern, neccsSIating a
strong tendon for its support and thus
atlordng better protection TO the shuttle
bone.
This disease may also be in some meas
ure hereditary, induced by breeding from
horses in unhealthy condition. One
English Veterinarian gives in instance
where all three of these joints were entire
ly joined These diseases-lamnitis or
founder and navicular arthritis, or navi-
culitis-may be alleviated by IL mode of
shoeing, which would give relief TO the
inhamed parts and aid the cure. There
are lhfce proper modes OF SiloelhS' one
in health when the foot should be shod
with Il shoe having calks of equal height
all around In shoeing II foundered horse
the toe should be raised high by Il toe
calk and there should be no heel calks. In
shooting for navcular arthritis the heels
should be high with no toe calk. In these
cases tbrce-fourths of an inch is not too
al tn ~ hpt bh
height of the heel and toe.