CHAPTER IX. 

 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



Diseases of the Mouth. 



408. Injuries to the mouth. — These consist of lacerations of 

 the membrane lining the lips, cheeks, and tongue. 



Causes. — Blows; coarse, rough food materials; faulty teeth, and 

 foreign substances, such as splinters, pieces of glass, and irritating 

 plants in the forage. The tongue is sometimes torn by the bit and 

 by rough handling in examining the mouth. In halter pullers it 

 may be severely bitten. 



Symptoms. — Slobbering; difficult and painful mastication; and 

 laceration, heat, swelling, and redness of the injured parts. 



Treatment. — Remove the cause. Flush out the mouth twice a 

 day with a solution of potassium permanganate, ^ dram to a quart of 

 water, or alum, ^ ounce to a quart of water, or creolin, 2 drams in a 

 quart of water may be used in the same way. 



Diseases of the Teeth. 



409. Irregular wearing of the teeth. 



Causes. — Abnormal inequality in the width of the upper and lower 

 jaws. The upper jaw being the wider, the inner edges of the lower 

 molars and the outer edges of the upper ones sometimes become 

 abnormally long and sharp (sharp teeth). These sharp points fre- 

 quently injure the cheeks and tongue. 



The milk molars are sometimes not promptly shed , their remnants 

 remaining as caps on the crowns of the permanent teeth. 



In undershot and in overshot (parrot mouth) the teeth do not wear 

 on each other, the result being that those receiving little or no wear 

 become excessively long and injure the soft structures and bone 

 with which they come in contact. 



In old animals, due to unequal hardness of opposing teeth, the 

 molars may become uneven in length, the harder ones sometimes 



117 



