walking cast

walking cast

Etymology: AS, wealcan, to roam; ONorse, kasta

a cast that permits a patient to walk. See also long-leg cast with walker, short-leg cast with walker.

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cast

1. a positive copy of an object, e.g. a mold of a hollow organ (a renal tubule, bronchiole, etc.), formed of effused plastic matter and extruded from the body, as a urinary cast; named according to constituents, as epithelial, fatty, waxy, etc.

2. a restraint procedure used in horses and cattle, and occasionally in large beasts such as elephants, to pull them to the ground so that surgical procedures can be performed. Used less nowadays than previously because of the advent of new anesthetic techniques. There are many techniques and special harnesses for special purposes.

3. an animal lies down but is unable to right itself into a position of sternal recumbency so that it can rise, e.g. a horse in a loose box when it is lying too close to a wall, a sheep in heavy fleece in wet weather. When helped to the sternal posture the animal is able to rise.

4. to form an object in a mold, as a replica of teeth made in an impression.

5. a stiff dressing or casing, usually made of plaster of Paris, used to immobilize body parts. More modern, lightweight casts are made of polyurethane resins.

6. strabismus.

7. culled, e.g. cast for age.

8. shedding of velvet by deer stags and bucks.

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full leg cast

see long-leg cast (below).

half cast

see walking cast (below).

long-leg cast

a rigid material, usually plaster of Paris, is applied from the toes to as high as possible over the humerus or femur. Used for immobilization of fractures of the radius, ulna or tibia.

renal c's

see urinary casts (below).

stone cast

a reproduction of the jaw and dentition made from powdered gypsum stone and water in an impression mold.

urinary c's

precipitates of mucoprotein or plasma protein in the shape of the renal tubular laminae in which they form, often with cellular elements. Observed in the examination of urinary sediment, they indicate renal tubular or epithelial damage. Hyaline casts are composed of mucoproteins or plasma proteins without formed cellular elements. Waxy, granular, epithelial, erythrocyte and leukocyte casts may occur, each representing a type of cellular reaction or stage of degeneration within the cast. Fatty casts are formed from degenerating tubular epithelial cells and, particularly in cats, lipid in these cells. Casts may dissolve in alkaline urine. Called also cylindroids.

Red cell cast in urine sediment. By permission from Meyer D, Raskin RE, Atlas of Canine and Feline Cytology, Saunders, 2001

walking cast

one that does not extend above the elbow or stifle, thereby permitting movement of those joints so that the animal can walk on the leg. Suitable for fractures of the metacarpus or metatarsus.

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walking cast

Orthopedics A leg cast that approximates and immobilizes bone fragments without compromising ambulation. See Cast.