392 



EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



XXXI 



that hard bodies such as bullets and spear-heads are 

 occasionally found embedded in the solid parts of 

 elephants' tusks without any sign existing on the 

 surface of the tusk to indicate the point of entry. 

 Many observers, among them Blumenbach and Cuvier, 

 noticed that the tissue in which foreign bodies are 



Iron ball surrounded by secondary 

 dentine, embedded in the solid 

 portion of an elephant's tusk. 

 (Museum of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons, England. ) 



embedded differs in appearance and texture from true 

 ivory. Goodsir (1841) investigated the matter and 

 furnished a satisfactory explanation. When the ball 

 hits the free portion of the tusk, if it only penetrates 

 to a certain depth, no change takes place and the 

 breach is not repaired. When the ball enters the pulp 

 chamber through the side of the tusk, the hole in the 



