316 WIND-GALLS. 
membrane to bulge out upon a living body. He does not care to ask 
whether Nature, when deformity first appeared, instituted the fact with- 
out intention. He will not condescend to question whether every un- 
natural appearance is not designed to be a warning. But he views wind- 
galls rather as a proof that the poor animal exhibiting them is a seasoned 
horse, and, therefore, is bettered by the distortion of a sensitive structure. 
Wind-galls are the result of severe work. The back sinews are incased 
in a fine sheath which contains synovia, or, as it is commonly termed, 
‘joint oil.” The use of the synovia is to facilitate the motions of the 
two great flexor tendons one upon the other; so, when the pace is too 
fast or the labor too energetic, the delicate membrane which secretes the 
synovia becomes irritated. The consequence of irritation is increased 
secretion. More joint oil is poured forth than the natural sac can con- 
tain. The membrane, therefore, bags out at those parts which are 
weakest. Two such places are situated above the fetlock and one below 
it. The localities, with the size of the tumors, as they generally are 
exhibited, the reader will find delineated in the following engravings. 
THE SITUATIONS AND SHAPES OF WIND-GALLS. WIND-GALLS, AS THEY APPEARED TO THE 
AUTHOR, UPON DISSECTION. 
Wind-galls generally appear on the hind leg. They used to be re- 
garded as swollen burse; but Mr. Varnell, Assistant Professor at the 
Royal Veterinary College, by careful dissection, first pointed out their 
real character. He proved them to be synovial enlargements; and the 
writer, benefiting by Mr. Varnell’s instruction, has verified the fact. 
Very slight physiological knowledge was required to detect they were 
not burse. Burs are little round sacs, secreting a fluid like synovia, 
but always placed so as to facilitate motion. Now, wind-galls appear 
close to a synovial sheath ordained to serve the same purpose. They, 
moreover, start up in the hollow between the flexor tendons and the 
suspensory ligament, in which arteries, veins, nerves, and absorbents 
reside. The merit in discovering they had been misnamed was, per- 
