THE PALATE. 133 



THE BONES OF THE MOUTH. 



The bones in and giving form to the mouth, are the superior maxillary 

 or upper jaw {b, p. 63 and I, p. 66), containing the grinders, tiie anterio? 

 maxillary, or lower part of the upper jaw [b, p. 63, », p. 66, r, p. 68), 

 containing the upper-nippers or cutting-teeth ; the palatine bone (below 8, 

 p. 68), and the posterior maxillary or under jaw (a, p. 63, and iv, p. 68), 

 containing all the under teeth. We will speak of them very shortly, in the 

 order in which we have mentioned them. 



The superior maxillary is, with the exception of the lower jaw, the largest 

 bone in the face. It unites above with the lachrymal bone [i, p. 66); and, 

 more on the side, with the malar or cheek bone, k ; and a portion of it, 

 continued upward, and underneath, enters into the orbit. Above, and on 

 the front of the face, it unites with the bones of the nose, ;', and below, 

 with the inferior maxillary, n. That which most deserves notice in it, 

 externally, is the ridge or spine, seen at b, p. 63, but better delineated in the 

 cut of the head, p. 67, continued from the base of the zygomatic arch, and 

 across the malar bone. It and the surface beneath serve to give attach- 

 ment to the masseter muscle, concerned almost as much as the temporal 

 one, in the act of chewing. The dark spot (m, p. 66, and seen likewise at 

 p. 63) marks the foramen or hole, through which a branch of the iifth pair 

 of nerves proceeds to give sensibility to the lower part of the face. As it 

 approaches the teeth, this bone separates into two plates, and these are 

 divided by long partitions, which contain and firmly hold the upper grinders. 

 The lower plate then projects inwards, and forms (i, p. 68) the principal 

 portion of the roof of the mouth and the floor of the cavity of the nose. 

 The corresponding bone on the other side meets its fellow in the centre of 

 the palate. The upper jaw-bone contains in it large cavities, beside the 

 cavities for the teeth, and these open into and enlarge the cavity of the nose. 

 They are connected with the voice, but not with the smell, for the expan- 

 sion of the olfactory or smelling nerve has never been traced beyond the 

 bones and membranes of the proper cavity of the nose. The maxillary 

 sinuses are generally filled with matter in bad cases of glanders. 



Below these are the anterior maxillary bones {f, p. 63, a, p. 68,) contain- 

 ing the upper cutting teeth, with the tushes belonging both to the upper and 

 anterior bones. These are the bones to which (see cut, p. 68) the upper 

 lip is attached. The superior and anterior maxillary bones are separated 

 in animals with long faces like the horse, that by overlapping each other 

 strength might be gained. 



The palatine bone forms but a very small portion of the palate, and sur- 

 rounds the edge of the communication between the cavity of the nose and 

 the back parts of the mouth. 



THE PALATE. 



Adhering to a portion of all three of the bones just described, and being 

 the lining of the roof of the mouth, is the hard palate, (t, p. 68,) composed 

 of a firm dense substance divided into several ridges called bars. The cut 

 gives a few of them. 



The cut will point out the bleeding place, if the horse should be attacked 

 with the megrims on a journey, and the rider or driver should not have a 

 lancet. Precisely in a line between the middle and' second cutting teeth, 

 and a little more than an inch within the mouth, the artery and vein make 

 a curve. They mav there be cut down upon with a sharp knife, and a 



