DISEASES OF .THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 407 
QUITTOR. 
Quittor is a term applied to various affections of the foot wherein 
the tissues which are involved undergo a process of degeneration 
that results in the formation of a slough followed by the elimination 
of the diseased structures by means of a more or less extensive sup- 
puration. 
For convenience of consideration quittors may be divided into four 
classes, as suggested by Girard: (1) Cutaneous quittor, which is 
known also as simple quittor, skin quittor, and carbuncle of the coro- 
net; (2) tendinous quittor; (8) subhorny quittor; and (4) cartilagi- 
nous quittor. 
CUTANEOUS QUITTOR. 
Simple quittor consists in a local inflammation of the skin and 
subcutaneous connective tissue on some part of the coronet, followed 
by a slough and the formation of an ulcer which heals by suppura- 
tion. 
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 pressure. 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. It is held by some writers that simple quittor is most 
often met with in the hind feet, but in my 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 that in the 
great majority of 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 injuri- 
ous 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 with freezing and thawing weather, is 
seen in the early springtime without a corresponding increase of 
quittor. Furthermore, 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 necessary at other seasons 
of the year, when these lakes and pools are full. Add to these condi- 
tions the further fact that much of this mud is impregnated with 
