377 



hours; but when the discharge diminishes, the dressing maybe left on 

 from one to two weeks. Before the patient is returned to work, a bar 

 shoe should be applied, since the removed quarter or heel can only be 

 made perfect again by a new growth from the coronary band. 



Tendinous or cartilaginous complications are to be treated as directed 

 under these headings. 



CARTILAGINOUS QUITTOn. 



This form of quittor may commeuce as a primary inflammation of the 

 lateral cartilage, but in the great majority of cases it appears as a se- 

 quel to cutaneous or sub-horny quittor. It may affect either the fore 

 or hind feet, but is most commonly seen in the former. As a rule, it 

 attacks but one foot at a time, and but one of the cartilages, and that 

 is generally the inner one. It is always a serious affection for the rea- 

 son that, in many cases, it can only be cured by a surgical operation, 

 requiriug a thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the parts involved 

 and much surgical skill. 



Causes. — Direct injuries to the coronet, such as tramping, pricks, 

 burns, and the blow of some heavy falling object which may puncture, 

 bruise, or crush the cartilage, are the common direct causes of cartilag- 

 inous quittor. Besides being a sequel to the other forms of quittor, it 

 sometimes develops as a complication in suppurative corn, canker, 

 grease, laminitis, and i)unctured wounds of the foot. Animals used for 

 heavy draught, and those with flat feet and low heels, are more liable 

 to the disease than others, for the simple reason that they are more ex- 

 posed to injury. Eough roads also predispose to the disease by in- 

 creasing liability to injury. 



Sym2)fo)ns. — When the disease commences as a primary inflammation 

 of the cartilage, lameness develops with the formation of a swelling on 

 the side of the coronet over the quarter. The severity of this lameness 

 depends largely upon the part of the cartilage which is diseased ; if the 

 disease is situated in that part of the cartilage nearest the heel, where 

 the surrounding tissues are soft and spongy, the lameness may be very 

 slight, especially if the patient is required to go no faster than a walk; 

 but when the middle and anterior parts of the cartilage are diseased 

 the pain and consequent lameness are much greater, for the tissues are 

 less elastic and the coffin joint is more likely to become affected. 



Except in the cases to be noted hereafter, one or more fistulous open- 

 ings finally appear in the tumor on the coronet. These openings are 

 surrounded by a small mass of granulations, which are elevated above 

 the adjacent skin and bleed readily if handled. A probe shows these 

 fistulous tracts to bo more or less sinuous, but always leading to one 

 point — the gangrenous cartilage. When cartilaginous quittor happens 

 as a complication of suppurative corn, or from punctured wounds of the 

 foot, the fistulous tract may open alone at the point of injury on the 

 sole. 



