318 STRUCTURE AND ADAPTATION OF TEETH 



The appropriate name of cement, bestowed on 

 this third element of the teeth by Baron Cuvier, 

 is thus seen to be peculiarly applicable to the 

 molars of the elephant. 



Each constituent plate, moreover, consists of a 

 series of slender conical columns, arranged trans- 

 versely across the tooth ; their bases gradually 

 expanding until these columns or denticuli are 

 blended together, and form a flat plate, with 

 wrinkled sides, giving the undulating pattern to 

 the line of enamel when the surface of the tooth 

 is worn. These detached plates, prior to their 



Fig. 47. — A separate plate, invested with a coating of enamel, 



D. Dentine exposed in section, E. Enamel. 



consolidation by the cement, offer a rude resem- 

 blance to a hand, and have been described, when 

 found in a fossil state,. as the petrified hands of a 

 monkey. 



• As the surface of the teeth is worn in mastica- 

 tion, the processes of enamel, resisting attrition 

 by their superior hardness, form prominent ridges 



