ANATOMY OF THE NOSE H? 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND ]M0U1H 

 We now proceed to a description of the face of tiie horse, so called 'P 

 contradistinction from the upper part of the head, containing the brain. 

 The nusal bones, or bones of tiie nose ( j j, page 66, and a, p. 68), are con- 

 nected wich the frontal bones above, and with the lachrymal, i i, and the 

 bones of the upper jaw, / /, on either side ; tliey are united together by a 

 plain suiure, wliich is a continuation of the frontal, and they terminate in a 

 point at the nostril (/, p. 63). Tiiey are rounded and arched abovCj 

 because they are exposed to occasional violence and injury, which the 

 arch-form will enable them best to resist ; and at the base of the arch, where 

 the main strength should be, they are overlapped by the upper jawbone, as 

 we have described the temporal bone overlapping the base of the parietal. 

 These bones form a principal part of the face ; and the length, or shortness, 

 and the character of the face depend upon tliem. The largeness and length 

 of these bones constitute the striking ditference between the head of the cart 

 horse and of the blood-horse. 



In some horses, this arch is more than usually developed, and there is, 

 beside, a prominence or increased archcdness about half-way down the nasal 

 bones. These horses are said to have Ronvm noses, because this arch of 

 'he nose distinguishes the profile of some of the most celebrated of the 

 ancient Romans. We cannot say that the breed of horses in which the 

 Roman-nose usually occurs, possesses superior sagacity or courage; they 

 are generally easy, good-tempered horses, excellent feeders, and hardy con- 

 stitutioned, but possessing little blood. Many thorough-bred horses have a 

 peculiarity the reverse of the Roman-nose. There is a depression or hollow 

 about the middle of the nasal bones. Although this be a characteristic of 

 breeding, it often accompanies an uncontrollable and vicious temper. 



These bones form the roof of an important cavity (see a, p. 68). The 

 sides are constituted above by the nasal bones, and, lower down, by the 

 upper jaw-bones [superior maxilktries), while plates from these latter bones 

 project and compose the palate, which is both the floor of the nose, and the roof 

 of the mouth, {t, p. 68). Above (near fig. 8), not visible in our cut, is a 

 bone called the palatine, altliough it contributes very little to the formation 

 of the palate. It is the termination of the palate, or the border of the 

 opening where the cavities of tlie mouth and nose meet (fig. 8). The fron- 

 tal sinuses, h, and large vacuities in the upper jaw-bone, and in the lethmoid, 

 /, and the sphenoid bones, k, communicate with and enlarge the cavity of 

 the nose. 



This cavity is divided into two parts by a thick cartilage (r, p. 68). 

 When we open the nostril, we see the membrane by which tiie cartilage, 

 and the whole of tiie cavity of the nose is lined, and by the colour of which, 

 much more than by that of the lining of the eyelids, we judge of the degree 

 of fever, and particularly of inflammation of the lungs or any of the air 

 passages. By the sore places or ulcerations discovered on this membrane, 

 we likewise determine on the existence of glanders. This cavity is, on 

 either side, occupied by two bones, which, from their being rolled up some- 

 what in the form of a turban, aru called the turhinated or turhan-shaped 

 bones s s ; part of the cartilage is cut away to display them. They arc 

 as thin as gauze, and perforated, like gauze, with a thousand iiolos, Between 

 thern are left suflicient passages for the air. 



