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CUTANEOUS (^UITTOR. 



Simple quittor cousists iu a local inflaiumatiou of the skin and of the 

 subcutaneous connective tissue on some part of the coronet, followed 

 by a slougli and the formation of an ulcer, whi(!li heals by suppuration. 



It is an extremely painful disease, owing to the dense character of 

 the tissues involved; for, in all dense structures, the swelling, which 

 accompanies inflammation, always produces intense i)ressure. This 

 pressure not only adds to the patient's suffering, but may, at the same 

 time, endanger the life of the affected parts by strangulating the blood 

 vessels, which alone constitute the means whereby a nutritive supply 

 is constantly maintained. It is held by some writers on the subject 

 that simple quittor is most often met with in the hind feet, but in the 

 author's experience more than two-thirds of the cases have developed 

 in the fore feet. While any part of the coronet may become the seat 

 of attack, the heels and quarters are undoubtedly most liable. 



Causes. — Bruises and other wounds of the coronet are often the 

 cause of cutaneous quittor, yet there can be no question but that in 

 the great majority of these cases the disease develops without any 

 known cause. For some reason, not yet satisfactorily explained, most 

 cases happen in the fall of the year. One explanation of this fact has 

 been attempted in the statement that the disease is due to the injurious 

 action of cold and mud. This claim, however, seems to lose force 

 when it is remembered that in many parts of this country the most 

 mud, accompanied by freezing and thawing weather, is seen in the 

 early springtime without a corresponding increase of quittor. Fur- 

 thermore, the serious outbreaks of this disease in the mountainous 

 regions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana are seen in the fall and 

 winter seasons, when the weather is the driest. It may be claimed, 

 and perhaps with justice, that during these seasons, when the water 

 is low, animals are compelled to wade through more mud to drink 

 from lakes and pools than is necessar}^ at other seasons of the year, 

 when these lakes and pools are full. Add to these conditions the 

 further fact that much of this mud is impregnated with alkaline salts, 

 which, like the mineral substances always found in the mud of cities, 

 are more or less irritating, and it seems fair to conclude that under 

 certain circumstances mud may become an important factor in the 

 production of quittor.* 



*A recent outbreak of quittor near Cheyenne, Wyo., which came under the 

 author's observation, was caused by the mud through which the horses had to 

 wade to reach the watering troughs. These troughs were furnished ^vith water 

 by windmills, and the mud-holes were caused by the waste water. More than 

 fifty cases developed inside of two months' time, or during September and October. 

 Among these fifty cases all forms of the disease and all possible complications 

 were presented. During the rainy season at Leadvilie, Colo. , outbreaks of quittor 

 are common, and the disease is so virulent that it has long been known as the 

 ' ' Leadvilie foot-rot. " The soil being rich in mineral matters is no doubt the cause 

 of the outbreaks. In the city of Montreal quittor is said to be very common in the 

 early springtime, when the streets are muddy from the melting of the snow and ice. 



