IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION OF SYNOVIAL AND OTHER SWELLINGS OR TUMOURS IN THE LIMBS OF HORSES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Marc Antoine François Mennons, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 24, Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris, in the Empire
of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION
AND REDUCTION OF SYNOVIAL AND OTHER SWELLINGS OR TUMOURS IN THE LIMBS
OF HORSES." A communication from Louis Rupert Wachter, residing at
Versailles (Dept. de Seine-et-Oise), France.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Marc Antoine François
Mennons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 28th June 1862, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent.Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARC
ANTOINE FRANÇOIS MENNONS, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 24,
Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR THE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION OF SYNOVIAL AND OTHER SWELLINGS OR
TUMOURS IN THE LIMBS OF HORSES," communicated to me by Louis Rupert
Wachter, a person resident at Versailles, Dept. de Seine-et-Oise, France, and
have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemu.
Declaration that it is a communication.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawing and to the letters marked thereon, that
is to say :-
This Invention consists in the substitution, as hereafter described, of elastic
moulds or sheaths to the non or semi-elastic bandages in leather, webbing,
flannel, and similar materials, at present generally applied to the prevention or
treatment of swellings and tumours on the knees, houghs, shanks, and fetlocks
of horses.
In the annexed Drawing, the letter A represents a knee-cap of the improved
form. a, a, is an envelope in caouchouc or.other elastic matter or material of
suitable kind, moulded or otherwise reduced to the exact form of the limb, and
provided with thickened seams or ribs b, b, in which are set the eylets and
lace c, c, serving to fix the apparatus in position; these eyelets may of course
be replaced by clasps, buckles, or other convenient means of attachment.
Within the envelope are cast or otherwise formed or applied a series of
projecting cushions corresponding with the hollows of the joint, which being
thus filled up partake of the general pressure of the apparatus. d is an
external cushion or pad corresponding with the front of the articulation, as in
ordinary knee-caps; B represents a hough piece formed on the same principle,
and provided, when necessary, with moveable straps, as in e, by which the
pressure may be increased at will; C represents a shank, and D a fetlock
piece, each closely moulded to the form of the part to which it is applied.
When caoutchouc or other impermeable material is employed in the manu-
facture of these pieces, a number of orifices may be provided to allow the
escape of the perspiration. They may also, when so required, be lined with
flannel or other suitable tissue, and be ornamented externally by embossing,
stitching, or otherwise. It is scarcely necessary to point out the advantages of
the envelopes prepared as above, compared with those of the ordinary form,
whether applied as simple guard to the sound limb, or as a means of reducing
existant blemishes. Independent of their unsightly appearance,
the caps and
bandages at present in use but rarely produce the desired effect; the com-
pression, such as it is, being in the large majority of cases confined to the bony
surfaces of the articulation, to the exclusion of the deeper set points at which
its action is required, as for instance, in the treatment of fetlock tumours
situated in the hollows comprised between the cannon bone and the tendons.
These imperfections are entirely obviated by the envelopes above described;
their close adaptation to the member does away with the ungainly appearance,

page_text: their elasticity leaves free play to the joint, while an effective degree of com-
pression is uniformly distributed over the covered surface, thus facilitating the
absorption of the diffused secretions or of the medicinal substances which may
be applied to the affected part.
It may also be observed that with the aid of a few standard models,
representing the different formations and dimensions of limb generally met
with, a large collection of envelopes may be prepared to fit exactly on
different horses as if each were separately moulded from nature.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and the manner in
which, it may be performed, I declare that without confining myself to the
precise details of execution above laid down, I claim the manufacture,
substantially as herein set forth, and shewn in the annexed Drawing, of sheaths
or envelopes applicable to the prevention and reduction of swellings or tumours
on the knees, houghs, shanks, and fetlocks of horses, the said sheaths composed
of caoutchouc or other suitable elastic material being so moulded and arranged
as to adapt exactly to the limbs of the animal, and to exert thereon a constant
and uniform compression.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.