LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT, 3855 
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 burs, as well as the etiology of their injuries and their 
pathological history, and we will now treat of the affections of -both. 
WINDGALLS. 
This name is given to the dilated burse found at the posterior 
part of the fetlock joint. They have their origin in a dropsical 
condition of the burse 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 sequele 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 
