23. The extremity of the heel should be particularly attended to, so that it may be properly laid, both in fractures of the leg and of the thigh. For if the foot be placed in a dependent position, while the rest of the body is supported, the limb must present a curved appearance at the forepart of the leg; and if the heel be placed higher than is proper, and if the rest of the leg be rather too low, the bone at the forepart of the leg must present a hollow, more especially if the heel of the patient be naturally large. But all the bones get consolidated more slowly, if not laid properly, and if not kept steady in the same position, and in this case the callus is more feeble.
