Fig. 16.—Condylomata of the interdigital space and sidebones.
The symptoms are easy to detect. The animals appear in perfect health, but have difficulty in walking, and show pain. They walk as though on sharp, rough ground, and lameness is sometimes severe. Locally, the anterior surface of the claws and the interdigital space are markedly congested and sensitive, or painful on pressure. The growths are of varying size, isolated or confluent, bleeding, excoriated, or covered with horn, and are visible between the claws when the animal stands on the limb. In many cases they form a perfect cast of the vertical interspace. When the superficial layers have undergone conversion into a horn-like material, lameness diminishes or disappears.
Diagnosis presents no difficulty.
Prognosis is only grave in so far as the condition interferes with animals working, but it may render working oxen entirely useless.
Treatment in the early stages is of a preventive character, and consists in placing animals which have been accidentally injured or attacked with foot-and-mouth disease on a perfectly clean bed.
Surgical treatment is the only reliable method in cases where hypertrophy of the papillary layer is well marked, and is extremely simple.
The animal should be fixed in the trevis, the foot to be operated on separately secured, and the growths completely removed with sharp scissors or with a bistoury and forceps. When bleeding has subsided the wound is covered with a mixture of equal parts of iodoform, tannin, and powdered boric acid, and an interdigital dressing is applied. The dressing is removed after five to ten days, according to circumstances. If the cicatrix shows signs of exuberant growth it is dusted with powdered burnt alum, and the parts are treated as an open wound. When the growths are covered with horn and no longer painful it is not desirable to interfere with them.
CANKER.
Canker—i.e., chronic suppurative inflammation of the podophyllous or velvety tissue—is accompanied by hypertrophy of the papillæ and progressive separation of the horn of the sole. It is much rarer in the ox than in the horse, although it occasionally occurs.