QUITTOR, 
793 
a detailed account of the various methods of shoeing horses with corns, 
see Dollar and Wheatley’s “ Horse-shoeing and the Horse’s Foot.”) 
Y.—QUITTOR. 
The term “quittor” is applied to a chronic, purulent inflammation 
of the lateral cartilage and of surrounding structures, associated with 
necrosis and the formation of sinuses. The cartilaginous prolongations 
of the wings of the os pedis are surrounded by a firm connective tissue, 
provided with many elastic fibres, termed the “ parachondrium,” which 
is in close relation with the subcoronary connective tissue, and with the 
fibro-fatty frog. Suppuration in the parachondrium is always liable to 
be followed by necrosis of the cartilage ; and, owing to the difficulty with 
which the dead portions separate, suppuration is obstinate, and the 
narrow canals or sinuses through which the discharge escapes are 
extremely difficult to heal. From time to time the inflammation becomes 
more intense, and leads to destruction of further portions of cartilage, so 
that, unless energetic treatment be resorted to, the condition usually 
continues three to five months. 
A similar affection occurs in the subcoronary and subcutaneous con¬ 
nective tissue above the coronet, and has been termed “ coronary fistula.” 
In the same way the French discriminate between “ Javart cutane ” and 
“ Javart cartilagineux .” 
The process is caused by infection of the connective tissue with 
staphylococci. Sometimes the organisms enter through the skin, as in 
treads, in gangrenous dermatitis, and similar diseases, but direct injury 
of the lateral cartilage is a rare cause of quittor formation if the wound 
be at once properly treated, and in by far the majority of cases the 
condition has its origin in corns. The inflammation thus excited extends 
to the connective tissue lying above the sensitive sole, or a crack forms in 
the horn of the wall, in consequence of which the connective tissue lying- 
under the sensitive laminae ma}^ become inflamed. 
On examining the parts, the parachondrium is found to be thickened 
and infiltrated with larger or smaller abscesses, while portions of the 
surface of the cartilage are necrotic, some being still adherent, others 
completely separated; they are generally of a greenish colour. 
The course of the disease is always chronic, whether it results from 
corns or from cracks in the horn. Recovery generally occurs, though 
sometimes only after complete destruction of the cartilage, a process 
which takes three to five months. As a rule, quittor remains confined 
to one side of the hoof, i.e., to one lateral cartilage, the inner cartilage 
being most frequently affected, because primary disease is commoner at 
this point. For a similar reason the destruction of cartilage commences 
