In order to study the pododerm we should not wrench the hoof off with violence, but should allow the foot to partially decompose by leaving it for six to eight days at ordinary room temperature; it can then be removed without injuring the pododerm. After the hoof has been removed the entire pododerm presents a more or less dark-red color (flesh-color), which is due to the great number of blood-vessels that it contains. For this reason different parts of the pododerm have received the prefix “fleshy,” as for example, fleshy wall, fleshy sole, fleshy frog, etc. The pododerm is what the uninformed horseshoer calls the “quick.” I will here remark that the three layers of the external or hair-skin are represented in the foot; however, the epidermis is in an entirely different form,—namely, the horny box or hoof. The internal layer or subcutaneous tissue of the hair-skin is absent in those parts of the foot where the pododerm covers the os pedis. There remains, therefore, only the middle layer, derm, or _pododerm, which secretes the hoof_, and which is the prolongation and representative of the middle layer of the hair-skin. The pododerm is distinguished from the derm of the hair-skin chiefly by the absence of hairs, oil- and sweat-glands, and the presence on its outer surface of fleshy, sensitive laminæ and small thread-like projections called villi. The pododerm consists of five different parts: the _perioplic band_, the _coronary band_, the _sensitive laminæ_ (podophyllous tissue), the _velvety tissue of the sole_, and the _velvety tissue of the fleshy frog_. 1. The _perioplic band_ (Fig. 28, _b_) is a narrow ridge, about one-fifth to one-fourth of an inch wide, lying between the hair-skin and the coronary band. Somewhat broader at the toe than on the sides, it broadens out near the bulbs of the heels, over which it passes to end in the velvety tissue of the fleshy frog. It is separated from the coronary band by a narrow depression called the _coronary furrow_ (Moeller). The surface of the perioplic band glistens faintly, and is thickly studded with numerous thread-like projections called villi, which are from one-twenty-fourth to one-twelfth of an inch in length. =The perioplic band secretes the soft horn of the perioplic ring and the perioplic or varnish-like outer layer of the wall.=