__DIVISION OF THE BRIDLE OF THE TONGUE. _ 
We sometimes find in children at birth, that the tongue is too 
closely tied down at the bottom of the mouth, owing to the bridle 
being either too short, or continued too near the point of it. The 
remedy is obvious; this membrane, or ligament, must be divided, 
so as to allow the tongue to have free motion ; and it should be done 
4s soon as it is observed to be necessary, otherwise the suckling of 
the child may in the first place be impeded, and afterwards an inter- 
ruption of speech may arise from it. = 
It is proper, however, to observe, that it is not a frequent occur- 
rence ; for although nurses often speak of children being tongue-tied, 
&c., that either do not suck readily, or are backward in i 
yet they are in reality seldom met with. ' 
The division of this bridle is an easy operation, but it must be 
done with attention, otherwise the contiguous blood vessels might be 
injured, by which such a quantity of blood might be lost as an infant 
could not easily bear ; it is commonly done, either with a scalpel or 
common scissors. The child being laid across the nurse’s knees, 
the surgeon should open the mouth and raise the tongue with the fin- 
gers of his left hand, while with the other he must introduce the in- 
strument, and divide to any necessary depth. 
| DIVISION OF THE SALIVAL DUCT. _ 5-3 
The salival gland of each side transmits the saliva, or splittle, 
which it secretes, bya duct of the size of a crow’s quill, which af- 
ter passing over part of the chewing muscle, penetrates the com- 
pressor of the cheek, in an oblique direction, and empties itself into 
the mouth, about the middle of the cheek. ‘ 
In opening abscesses, or extirpating cancers from the cheek, as 
well as by various accidents, this duct is apt to be cut; and-if the 
two divided ends of it be not retained together till they heal, the 
saliva which it ought to convey to the mouth, is poured over the 
cheek ; and the discharge being constantly kept up, the sore is pre- 
vented from healing, and a fistulous opening produced, correspot 
ing to the size of the duct. As the sore commonly heals internally, 
the discharge would necessarily continue during life, if means were 
not used for preventing it. 
In recent divisions of this duct, the best practice is, to lay the 
two ends of it exactly together, and to retain them in this situation 
till they unite, by adhesive 2 argo or if this fails, by twisted suture, 
when the retraction of the divided muscle is considerable ; but when 
this has either been neglected, or fails of success, as the distant ex- 
tremity of the duct soon heals and is entirely obliterated at the divided 
end of it, the only way in which a cure can be obtained, is, to make 
an artificial opening into the mouth, and endeavor to form an union 
between it and the upper part of the duct leading from the gland. 
_4n making this passage, it ought to be carried as nearly as poss 
in the direction of the natural duct ; and in order to ins 
it should be rathe . : 
r ofa larger diameter than the duet 
