Möller's operative veterinary surgery / translated and edited from the second enlarged and improved edition of 1894 by Jno. A.W. Dollar.
- Date:
- 1895
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Möller's operative veterinary surgery / translated and edited from the second enlarged and improved edition of 1894 by Jno. A.W. Dollar. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![The onset and course of the lameness is, then, of greatest value ; the style of movement, which varies greatly according to the position and extent of the inflammation and to other circumstances, much less so. In the greater number of cases the limb is incompletely extended. The last phase of the stride, while weight is still carried by the limb, is relatively shortened, apparently on account of the pain due to extension of the hock-joint. Immediately the hoof leaves the ground the limb is drawn rapidly forward. This sudden movement often resembles string- halt, and is best seen during the first few steps, or when turning in a small circle. A further consequence of the incomplete extension of the limb is an exaggerated hip-action, which is seldom absent. The shortening of the last part of the stride is compensated by extra movement of the quarter. Sometimes the limb is abducted, especially in double-sided spavin, in which the turning out of the limbs is often well marked. In other cases the fetlock becomes upright, in consequence of the incomplete extension of the hock causing the animal when moving over uneven ground to walk on the toe. As a rule, lameness develops very gradually. At first it disappears after a few steps, and in many cases all that can be observed is a catch in the movement of the affected limb, resembling stringhalt when turn- ing round in the stall towards the sound side. This usually disap])ears with work. The disappearance of lameness during movement, and its regular recurrence after rest, form one of the most important peculiari- ties of the disease. The fact that turning towards the sound side seems more painful than towards the diseased is explained by the pressure on the inner part of the hock being then greater. Occasionally, however, the lameness persists during movement, and may, indeed, become more severe, especially if it were previously well marked or of old standing. The increase in lameness when turning in small circles is clearly due to the rotary movement in the limb and the tendency to displacement of the bones in the affected section of the joint. The spavin test is sometimes useful in diagnosing spavin lameness : it consists in keeping the limb flexed for one minute and then trotting the horse. Lameness is very marked. This test, however, requires to be used with considerable care, especially in old horses, which may show similar difficulty in movement after the limb has been kept bent, even without having spavin. Various hypotheses have from time to time been advanced as to the immediate cause of lameness. Whilst the older practitioners considered the pain to be due to pressure of the exostosis on the periosteum, and supported their view by reference to the uneven surface of the macerated bones, we have known since Havemann's time that the changes within](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2193986x_0666.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
