lameness: ITS causes and treatment. 355 



DISEASES OF THE SYNOVIAL SACS. 



Two forms of affection here present themselves, one being the 

 result of an abnormal secretion which induces a dropsical condition 

 of the sac without any acute, inflammatory action, while the other is 

 characterized by excessive inflammatory symptoms, with their modi- 

 fications, .constituting synovitis. 



SYNOVIAL DROPSIES. 



We have already considered in a general way the presence of these 

 peculiar oil bags in the joints, and in some regions of the legs where 

 the passage of the tendons takes place, and have noticed the sim- 

 ilarity of structure and function of both the articular and the 

 tendinous bursas, as well as the etiology of their injuries and their 

 ppthological history, and we will now treat of the affections of both, 



WINDGALLS. 



This name is given to the dilated bursae found at the posterior 

 part of the fetlock joint. They have their origin in a dropsical 

 condition of the bursae of the joint itself, also of the tendon which 

 slides behind it, and are therefore further known by the designations 

 of articular and tendinous windgalls, or puffs. (See also p. 401.) 



They appear in the form of soft and somewhat symmetrical 

 tumors, of varying dimensions, and generally well defined in their 

 circumference. They are more or less tense, according to the quan- 

 tity of secretion they contain, apparently becoming softer as the foot 

 is raised and the fetlock flexed. Usually they are painless and only 

 cause lameness under certain conditions, as when they begin to de- 

 velop themselves under the stimulus of inflammatory action, or when 

 large enough to interfere with the functions of the tendons, or again 

 when they have undergone certain pathological changes, such as 

 calcification, which is among their tendencies. 



Cause. — Windgalls may be attributed to external causes, such as 

 severe labor or strains resulting from heavy pulling, fast driving, or 

 jumping, or they may be among the sequelae of internal disorders, 

 such as strangles or the resultants of a pleuritic or pneumonic attack. 



Unnecessary anxiety is sometimes experienced respecting these 

 growths, with much questioning touching the expediency of their 

 removal, all of which might be spared, for, while they constitute a 

 blemish, their unsightliness will not hinder the usefulness of the 

 animal, and in any case they rarely fail to show themselves easily 

 amenable to treatment. 



Treatment. — ^When in their acute stage, and when the dropsical 

 condition is not excessive, the inflammation may be checked during 

 the day by continuous, cold-water irrigation by means of a hose or 



