Some account of the circulation of the blood in the foot of the horse / by B.C.

  • Bracy Clark
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Some account of the circulation of the blood in the foot of the horse / by B.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The artery, on arriving at the back part of the head of the coronet bone, passes over or outside of a large transverse undulating vein placed beneath the sesamoids, and which vein is connecting the two venous circulations on the opposite sides of the foot. Soon after leaving the above vein the artery is seen to send off at its posterior part a double branch of considerable length, parting from a single stem; one of them is dispatched to the sides of the furch, and is adhering to its cartilaginous capsule through its whole length; the other is distributed and lost in being dispersed upon the cartilaginous internal furniture of the angle ot the inflexions. These two vessels are superficial, generally appearing on the removal of the skin and cellular membrane. Quitting the sides of the bone, this artery is now seen directing its course towards the lateral cartilage, entering its enclosure opposite to a conspicuous remarkable notch in its upper margin ; and behind this notch is an elevated projecting broad tooth. By this deficiency in the cartilage, is probably imparted a degree of freedom from constraint of the artery, in the various actions and contortions ot the animal upon his foot, and by the broad tooth we apparently obtain a defence to the artery from external assault, especially from behind. Below this notch, the cartilage in a remarkable manner becomes thickened and consolidated, affording a still greater defence to the artery, and guaranteeing it from injury; and further, on the side of this thickening and enlargement is seen the elastic globe strongly adhering to the inner surface of the cartilage, and conferring an elastic yielding to all its movements, by ex- tending and playing to it; it is also preventing injury from bruises of the part. When arrived about the middle region of the inside of the cartilage, the artery is sending off a branch at right angles, which entering a deep horizontal depression, or fosse, in the cartilage, is extending nearly through its lateral dimensions, and which depression has a cor- responding projection externally, and being placed or situated a little above the cutidura, it is constituting very much that handsome exterior bulge we call the coronary ring, giving a full, rich, and noble appearance to this part of the foot. Bunning along within this concavity of the cartilage, the artery is sending off small twigs at right angles upwards and downwards within it, which impart to it what little blood it possesses, being a Avhite part, and almost destitute of it. Returning again to the main artery, we now find it on its arriving a little below the lateral extremity of the shuttle bone, to be sending off a considerable rectangular branch, which can be traced to the retros, or posterior appendage of the coffin bone, and is passing through a large foramen in this bone, and in its trajet or passage through it, is giving off another branch, directed backwards, and passes through a foramen backwards directed, in the bone, and which artery appears to be lost on the cartilaginous envelopements of the bone, and expended on its various irregular excrescences. To enable us readily to speak of the two above vessels, and avoid confusion, we name the first of these,—the retrossal major artery ; the other, the posterior, or retrossal minor artery. We may here just stop to observe, that these remarkable bony appendages to the coffin bone, appear to be pretty much or entirely peculiar to the horse, and given to afford him a greater extent and increase of bearing surface of the bone upon the sole of the hoof, contributing much thereby to those very powerful and graceful movements which
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