╨╧рб▒с>■  ')■   &                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴ ┐yjbjbjкjк ╚╚y       ]ввввввв╥╥╥╥╥ ▐ ╥WъЎЎЎЎЎЎЎЎ,AЇ5АBвЎЎЎЎЎBюввЎЎЎюююЎ╓вЎвЎ╢─ввввЎю&юввъ Єi┴╢╥╥╠"Trauma Hypothesis Injury/Fracture to the Distal Tibia The mare could have kicked him or stepped on him near the fetlock region. The impact of the blow would still have left the skin intact if nothing sharp pierced through the skin. The force could have damaged the underlying muscle and tissue around the bone leading to the soft tissue swelling. Since horses donТt have a lot of skin or fat protecting the underlying bones of the legs, a fracture could easily have resulted, leading to the toe touching lameness. The fracture might have then led to increased tearing of the surrounding tissues leading to an inflammatory response. The ensuing influx of neutrophils could have added to the damage of the surrounding tissue with the release of their nonspecific cytotoxic enzymes. Chemotactic factors released by the neutrophils and the damaged tissue cause vasodilation of the surrounding vessels leading to the pitting edema and the swelling seen in the area. The toe touching lameness could be a response to pain initiated by prostaglandins in the inflammatory cascade. The hoof testing showed no reponse and there were no foreign bodies present, ruling out injury to the soul of the foot. After palaption of the fetlock joint, lameness and pain increased, helping localize the problem to the fetlock. A reason that this might not be the primary hypothesis is because there was no crepitation upon palpation. But this might just be because it is a hairline fracture. If no bone fragments are out of place then maybe there isnТt any abnormal scraping of bone against bone leading to the crepitus. The fracture could explain the acute onset of lameness and the unilateral signs seen in the foal. Because this is a foal, its bones are still growing and forming and therefore are not as dense as an adultТs bones. The weakness of the bones during growth predisposes them to fractures even from mild to moderate trauma. The distal tibia narrows as it comes into contact with the metatarsal bones, and is a particularly susceptible area of the hind limb. Injury to the Suspensory Ligament The Suspensory ligament is vital to normal functioning of the rear legs. It prevents hyperextension of the fetlock and aids in the passive stay apparatus. A laceration or injury to this ligament might cause increased fetlock hyperextension and they tend to bear weight on the toe, as seen in our patient. This would be a soft tissue injury leading to all the sequelae discussed above, with the influx of neutrophils and subsequent swelling and pain. The absence of crepitation would also support this hypothesis. There was no superficial wound noted on physical examination which might rule out damage to the suspensory ligament. The ligament might be bruised or stretched but it is probably still intact and therefore relatively functional. With an intact, but bruised ligament, there would be mild lameness present. y7% N   < vwxy¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 7% N   < vwxy ░╨/ ░р=!░"░#Ра$Ра%░ [4@ё 4NormalCJOJPJQJmH <A@Є б<Default Paragraph Fonty        y y y y Ха  9DbnW^о▓╗─uАDL(2AKз п ╘ ▀   г н { ╨╥t Е {    Math EmporiumKMacintosh HD:Desktop Folder:Student's Folder:AutoRecovery save of Document1 Math Emporium>Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:Student's Folder:Trauma Hypothesis Math Emporium>Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:Student's Folder:3hypothesis_a.txt Math Emporium?Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:Student's Folder:3hypothesis1_a.txt Math Emporium?Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:Student's Folder:3hypothesis1_a.txt @А%%hГF%%5y @@GРTimes New Roman5РАSymbol3Р Arial3РTimes"qИ╨h┌RF\┌RF!е└┤┤А20d╨  Trauma Hypothesis Math Emporium Math Emporium■  рЕЯЄ∙OhлС+'│┘0pИРм╕╨▄ь  , 8 DPX`h'Trauma HypothesisdrauMath EmporiumsiathNormalpMath Emporiumsi3thMicrosoft Word 8.0d@╥Ik@фў╥└а└@╪B|╔а└■  ╒═╒Ь.УЧ+,∙о0 hpИРШа и░╕└ ╚ ц'Virginia Techtм Trauma Hypothesis Title ■   ■   ■    !"#$%■   ¤   (■   ■   ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Root Entry         └F¤ЭФЯа└*А1Table        WordDocument        SummaryInformation(    DocumentSummaryInformation8            CompObj            X                        ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ■      └FMicrosoft Word Document■   NB6WWord.Document.8