18
In complete dislocations toward either side, extension is to be made as in bandaging fracture of the arm; for thus the rounded part of the elbow will not form an obstacle to it. Dislocation, for the most part, takes place toward the sides (inwardly?). Reduction is to be effected by separating (the bones) as much as possible, so that the end (of the humerus) may not come in contact with the olecranon, and it is to be carried up, and turned round, and not forced in a straight line, and, at the same time, the opposite sides are to be pushed together, and propelled into their proper place. It will further assist if rotation of the fore-arm be made at the elbow, sometimes turning it into a supine position, and sometimes into a prone. The position for the treatment consists in keeping the hand a little higher than the elbow, and the arm at the sides; then it may either be suspended or laid at rest, for either position will answer; and nature and the usage of common means will accomplish the cure, if the callus does not form improperly: it is formed quickly. The treatment is to be conducted with bandages according to the rule for bandaging articulations, and the point of the elbow is to be included in the bandage.
19
Dislocations at the elbow give rise to the most serious consequences, such as fevers, pain, nausea, vomitings of pure bile, and more especially when the humerus is displaced backward from pressure on the nerve, which occasions numbness; next to it is the dislocation forward; the treatment is the same; reduction in dislocation backward is by extension and adaptation; the symptom of this variety-loss of the power of extension; of dislocation forward-loss of the power of flexion, and in this case reduction is to be accomplished by placing a hard ball (in the bend of the elbow), and bending the fore-arm about it, along with sudden extension.
20
Diastasis of the bones may be recognized by examining the part where the vein that runs along the arm divides.
