ON THK SETON AND CAUTERY. 
5sy 
distention, whether arising from hydrops articuli, or from an ac¬ 
cumulation of that fluid in those bursae and thecae having no 
communication with the articular cavities. 
The parts most subject to this disease are :—1st. The pastern 
joint, its thecae and bursae ; 2d. The hock and its capsules ; 
3d. The knee, and its thecae. I have mentioned them in their 
order of frequency. 
To give a thorough pathological description of this affection 
would occupy too much space. The following account must 
suffice:— 
There are very few, even of our best horses, that have not 
what are commonly called windgalls.” They, and almost all 
other bursal enlargements, are the results of long-continued and 
frequent exertion; and when not in combination with any other 
disease (i. e. when there is nothing abnormal but an accumulation 
of synovia), are seldom the cause of lameness. These bursm 
are, however, sometimes the seat of acute inflammation; but 
in the present instance we shall only allude to the chronic affec¬ 
tion, the treatment for both not being exactly similar. 
From an inordinate use of the joint, the secerning vessels of the 
synovial membrane are increased in their action, and secrete a 
greater quantity of synovia than under ordinary circumstances. 
This fluid gradually accumulates until there is such a quantity of 
it, that the synovial capsule, no longer able to resist the pressure, 
becomes distended, and in some instances to such an extent that its 
external fibrous tunic is ruptured. It thus allows of the forma¬ 
tion of fluctuating tumours, the dimensions and shape of which 
vary much according to their seat and duration. All this may 
and does generally happen without being attended with any 
inflammatory action. Sometimes the contrary is the case. This, 
however, is comparatively seldom. In some instances the enlarge¬ 
ments acquire so great a bulk, that they interfere with the flexion 
of the limb. This is not unfrequently the case, where either the 
carpal or tarsal articulations are affected. 
Rest, combined with wet bandaging, or any other means of 
compress, where it is applicable, will, in the majority of in¬ 
stances, reduce the leg to its primitive fineness; but the moment 
the animal is put to work, the tumours return. 
I have closely watched a great number of cases of bursal en¬ 
largement : I have taken notes of thirty-eight of them ; seven¬ 
teen of which were treated with the seton: the remaining one- 
and-twenty by the actual cautery. 
Out of the seventeen in which setons were em])loyed, the re¬ 
lief afforded to eleven of them was so slight, that they w'ere 
afterwards fired ; and, excepting in one instance, the most evident 
VOL. xi. 4 1 
