y than from the use of the probe. We need hardly
say that in the middle zone the deeper the prick, the more serious the
case, and the less favourable the prognosis. As in succession the sensitive
sole, the plantar aponeurosis, the navicular bursa, the navicular bone, or
the pedal articulation is injured, so with each step deeper of the prick is
the severity of the case increased.

The shape of the penetrating object may also be considered. One excessively
blunt, and calculated to bruise and crush the tissues, will inflict a more
serious wound than one of equal length that is pointed and sharp.

The conformation of the foot should also be regarded. Wounds in well-shaped
feet are less serious than in feet with soles that are flat or convex, or
in which the horn is pumiced or otherwise deteriorated in quality.

Although unaffecting the prognosis so far as the actual termination of the
case is concerned, it may be mentioned that punctured foot is far more
serious in a nag than in a heavy draught animal. With an equal degree of
lameness resulting in each case, the former will be well-nigh useless, but
the latter still capable of performing much of his usual labour.

The temperament and condition of the patient will also in many cases
largely influence the prognosis. An animal of excitable and nervous
disposition is far more likely to succumb to the effects of pain and
exhaustion than the horse of a more lymphatic type. In the case of a
patient suffering from a prick to a hind-foot while heavily pregnant, the
attempted forecast of the termination should be cautious. More especially
does this apply to the case of a heavy cart-mare. Ordinarily, the
heavier the breed, the greater the tendency to lymphatic swelling of the
hind-limbs. With pregnancy this tendency is enormously increased, and it is
no uncommon thing to find a cart-mare in this condition, with legs, as the
owner terms it, 'as thick as gate-posts.' A prick to the foot, with the
lymphatics of the limb in this state, is extremely likely to end in septic
infection of the leg, for there appears to be no doubt but that invasion of
the lymphatics with septic matter is favoured by a sluggish stream. Also,
in the case of a patient in the advanced stages of pregnancy, it must be
remembered that, no matter how great may be the need, one is debarred, for
obvious reasons, from using the slings.

_Treatment_.--_In a simple_ case--and by 'simple' here we mean the case
in which