CARXIVOEA DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



SSI 



away. Tlie canines, temporary and permanent, are very large, strong, conical, 



and curved outwards and backwards ; the upper ones are the largest, and have 



a space between them and the incisors, which 



lodges the lower canines when the mouth is 



shut. The molars, twelve in the iipper, and 



fourteen in the lower jaw, terminate in sharp 



projections ; the last upper premolar and the 



iirst lower true molar are the largest, and 



being furnished with cutting edges, they have 



been termed the sectorial teeth, dens sedorkis 



(" dent carnassiere " of Cuvier). The other 



molars are slightly sectorial, and also tuber- 



culate — i.e., provided with processes for crush- Fit- 1^3. 



ing the food. ^'^«"^ °^ ^ ^i°^ (Carnivora). 



The cat has only fourteen molars, eight above and six below ; the other 

 teeth are like those of the dog, making up a total of thirty. The formula 

 probably is : — 



.3-3 1 -- 1 3-3 1-1 



'■ 3^' '■ 1^' P-"'' 2~2' '"• r:i=^^' 



The last upj^er premolar, and all the lower molar and premolar teeth may be 

 said to be sectorial in this animal. 



The oesophagus is very dilatable, and presents a well-marked infundibuli- 

 form union with the stomach. 



Fig. 145. 

 Csecum and colon of a Dog — inflated. 

 a, Ileum ; b, Csecum ; c, Colon. 



Fig. 144. 

 Stomach of a Dog— inflated, a, Cardiac por- 

 tion ; 6, Pyloric portion ; c, (Esophageal orifice ; 

 d, Duodenum. 



The stomach is simple and only slightly curved ; it is commonly described 

 as pear-shaped, resembling that of the horse, but with a very small and narrow 

 pyloric portion, terminating in a constricted valve. The mucous membrane is 

 all villous, the natural food of these animals recj^uiring but little preparation. 



The intestines are short and small. The small intestine is suspended by a 

 mesentery ; its walls are thick. The colon is somewhat larger than the small 

 intestines, and divided, as in man, into ascending, transverse, and descending 

 portions ; the ccecum is only a small, spiral appendix ; there is no floating 



