THE TEETH. 



233 



mouth, and forms an acute angle with the other. The mo- 

 lars of the lower jaw have but two roots, the one anterior, 

 the other posterior; they are flattened very much laterally, 

 grooved, and sometimes bifid. The first molar is the largest, 

 the third or last, called dens sapientice } is the smallest and 

 shortest. The wisdom tooth of the upper jaw has its roots 

 sometimes united into one, while the root of the lower is 



FIG. 60. 



conical and generally single. 

 The roots of the first two I 

 upper molars are situated be- 

 neath the floor of the antrum, 

 and occasionally perforate 

 this cavity. Those of the last 

 inferior molars are found in 

 the base of the coronoid pro- 

 cesses. The apex of all the roots 

 are perforated for the trans- 

 mission of vessels and nerves. 

 The roots of the molar teeth 

 in both jaws are found not 

 unfrequently to approach each other, and thus enclose the 

 osseous wall which divides them. From this arrangement 

 they offer considerable difficulty to extraction. The inter- 



FIG. 60, a a a a a a Exterior view of the molars, b b I b I b Interior 

 view, c c c c c c Lateral view. 



