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 similarity
of structure and function of both the articular and the tendinous bursae,
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 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 quantity 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 develop 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 soaking
tub and at night by applying a moderately tight-roller bandage. Later
absorption may be promoted by a Priessnitz bandage,[2] pressure by
roller bandages, sweating, the use of liniments, or if necessary by a
sharp blister of biniodid of mercury. Thi