THE TEETH OF MAN. 13 



stouter teeth than the incisors ; not only are the crowns 

 thicker and stronger, but the roots are very much longer. 



The crown terminates in a blunt point, which lies in a 

 straight line with the long axis of the root ; a feebly pro- 

 nounced line or ridge runs down the outer surface of the 

 tooth from this point to the neck. The crown slopes away 

 both before and behind the point or cusp, but as that side 

 of the tooth which lies next to the bicuspid is convex, and 

 as it were produced towards that tooth, the slope is longer 

 on the distal than on the mesial half of the crown. The 

 crown thus not being perfectly symmetrical renders it easy 

 to determine at a glance to which side of the mouth the 

 canine belongs. 



The internal or lingual surface is not concave like that of 

 the incisors, but is in a slight degree convex, and a median 

 ridge runs down it from the apex of the cusp ; this ridge 



FIG. 4 ( J ). 



where it meets with the ridge which borders the lingual 

 surface and corresponds with the cinguluni of the incisor 

 teeth, is often developed into a well-marked prominence or 

 cusp. 



In transverse section the neck is nearly triangular, the 

 outer or labial being much wider than the lingual aspect. 



( ! ) Lingual, labial, and distal surfaces of an upper canine, showing the 

 basal cusp and the three ridges which converge towards it. 



