a, is helpful.

The _local treatment_ consists chiefly in improving the nutrition of the
affected limb by means of massage, exercises, baths, and electricity.
Splints are to be avoided. In refractory cases, benefit may follow the
application of blisters or of Corrigan's button. The general condition
of the patient must be treated on the same lines as in other neuroses.
The Weir-Mitchell treatment may have to be employed in obstinate cases,
the patient being secluded from her friends and placed in charge of a
nurse. Complete recovery is the rule, but when the muscles are weak and
wasted from prolonged disuse, a considerable time may elapse before the
limb returns to normal.

TUMOURS AND CYSTS

New growths taking origin in the synovial membrane are rare, and are not
usually diagnosed before operation. They are attended with exudation
into the joint, and in the case of _sarcoma_ the fluid is usually
blood-stained. If the tumour projects in a polypoidal manner into the
joint, it may cause symptoms of loose body. One or two cases have been
recorded in which a _cartilaginous tumour_ growing from the synovial
membrane has erupted through the joint capsule and infiltrated the
adjoining muscles. _Multiple cartilaginous tumours_ forming loose bodies
are described on p. 544.

_Cysts of joints_ constitute an ill-defined group which includes ganglia
formed in relation to the capsular ligament. Cystic distension of bursae
which communicate with the joint is most often met with in the region of
the knee in cases of long-standing hydrops. It was suggested by Morrant
Baker that cystic swellings may result from the hernial protrusion of
the synovial membrane between the stretched fibres of the capsular
ligament, and the name "Baker's cysts" has been applied to these.

In the majority of cases, cysts in relation to joints give rise to
little inconvenience and may be left alone. If interfered with at all,
they should be excised.

LOOSE BODIES

It is convenient to describe the varieties of loose bodies under two
heads: those composed of fibrin, and those composed of organised
connective tissue.

#Fibrinous Loose Bodies# (Corpora oryzoidea).--These are homogeneous or
concentrically laminated masses of fibrin, sometimes resembling rice
grains, melon seeds, or adhesive wafers, sometimes quite irregular in
shape. Usually they are present in large numbers, but sometimes there is
only one, and it may attain considerable dimensions.