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BOWIE, JAMES (1796-1836)
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See also:BOWIE, See also: If, however, the child attempts either as the result of See also:imitation or from encouragement to walk before the normal bandy See also:condition had passed off, the result will necessarily be either an See also:arrest in the development of the limbs or an increase of the bandy condition. If the child is weakly, either rachitic or suffering from any ailment which prevents the due ossification of the bones, or is improperly fed, the bandy condition may remain persistent. Thus the See also:chief cause of this deformity is See also:rickets (q.v.). The remaining causes are occupation, especially that of a See also:jockey, and traumatism, the condition being very likely to supervene after accidents involving the condyles of the femur. In the rickety form the most important thing is to treat the constitutional disease, at the same time instructing the See also:mother never to place the child on its feet. In may cases this is quite sufficient in itself to effect a cure, but matters can be hastened somewhat by applying splints. When in older patients the deformity arises either from traumatism or occupation, the only treatment is that of operation. A far commoner deformity than the preceding is that known as knock-knee (or Genu Valgum). In this condition there is See also:close approximation of the knees with more or less separation of the feet, the patient being unable to bring the feet together when See also:standing.. Occasionally only one See also:limb may be affected, but the See also:double form is the more See also:common. There are two varieties of this deformity: (i.) that due to rickets and occurring in See also:young children (the rachitic form), and (ii.) that met with in adolescents and known as the static form. In young children it is practically always due to rickets, and the constitutional disease must be most rigorously dealt with. It is, however, especially in these cases that See also:cod-See also:liver oil is to be avoided, since it increases the body See also:night and so may do harm rather than See also:good. The child if quite young must be kept in See also:bed, and the limbs manipulated several times a See also:day. Where the child is a little older and it is more difficult to keep him off his feet, See also:long splints should be applied from the axilla or See also:waist to a point several inches below the level of the foot. It is only by making the splints sufficiently long that a naturally active child can be kept at See also:rest. The little patient should live in the open See also:air as much as possible. The static form of Genu Valgum usually occurs in young adolescents, especially in anaemic nurse-girls, young bricklayers, and young See also:people who have outgrown their strength, yet have to carry heavy weights. Normally in the erect posture the weight of the body is passed through the See also:outer condyle of the femur rather than the inner, and this latter is lengthened to keep the See also:plane of the knee-See also:joint See also:horizontal. This throws considerable See also:strain on the See also:internal lateral See also:ligament of the knee-joint, and after standing of long duration or with undue weight the muscles of the inner See also:side of the limb also become over-fatigued. Thus the ligament gradually becomes stretched, giving the knee undue mobility from side to side. If the condition be not attended to, the outer condyle becomes gradually atrophied, owing to the increased weigl,it transmitted through it, and the inner condyle becomes lengthened. These changes are the See also:direct outcome of a general See also:law, namely, that diminished pressure results in increased growth, increased pressure in diminished growth. The best example of the former principle is the rapid growth that takes place in the child that is confined to bed during a prolonged illness. The distorted, stunted, shortened and fashionable foot of the See also:Chinese See also:lady is an example of the latter. See also:Flat-foot (see See also:CLUB-FOOT) and lateral curvature of the spine, scoliosis, are often associated with this form of Genu Valgum, the former being due to relaxation of ligaments, the latter being compensatory where the deformity only affects one leg, though often found merely in association with the more common bilateral variety. In the See also:early stages of the static form See also:attention to general See also:health, See also:massage and change of air, will often effect a cure. But in the more aggravated forms an apparatus is needed. This usually consists of an outside See also:iron See also:rod, jointed at the knee, attached above to a pelvic See also:band and below to the See also:heel of the See also:boot. By the gradual tightening of padded straps passing See also:round the limbs the bones can be See also:drawn by degrees into a more natural position. But if the patient has reached such an See also:age that the deformity is fixed, then the only remedy is that of operation. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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