FOREIGN BODIES IN THE MOUTH. 255 



in five to six months, sometimes later. Post-mortem showed gangrenous 

 pneumonia (mechanical pneumonia), atrophy of the roots of the bulbar 

 nerves (hypoglossal, vagus and facial), and degeneration of the muscles 

 of the tongue and cheeks. 



II.— DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 



(1.) FOREIGN BODIES IN THE MOUTH. 



In domesticated animals, and especially in dogs and cattle, foreign 

 bodies taken into the mouth along with the food, or picked up in 

 play, are apt to become fixed in position. In dogs, bones and needles 

 are the most common objects ; in cattle, pieces of wood, which lie 

 between the teeth or the teeth and cheeks ; while needles usually 

 penetrate the tongue or palate. The animals salivate, are restless 

 and exhibit chewing movements when the mouth is apparently empty ; 

 some shake the head or make cautious attempts to swallow ; and, 

 if the foreign body is not removed, they become thin from insufficient 

 nourishment. Where such symptoms are met with, the mouth 

 should be carefully examined. The objects being often very small, 

 like needles or splinters of wood, it is necessary to search closely. 

 Where hard bodies become fixed between the upper and lower teeth, 

 the mouth can sometimes neither be closed by the animal itself nor 

 by external force. In dogs and cats, sewing needles are often fixed 

 in the base of the tongue. 



Apart from difficulty in feeding and loss of condition, other 

 symptoms may supervene. A horse has been seen to die of bleeding 

 from the palatine artery, primarily brought about by a needle 

 penetrating the tongue. Most veterinary surgeons have removed 

 pieces of bone from between the molars in dogs, which were unable 

 to close their mouths, and in consequence had been suspected of 

 rabies. Lindenberg saw epileptiform attacks in a cow result from 

 a sharp molar injuring the tongue, attempts to eat immediately 

 producing an attack. To remove a foreign body the mouth should 

 be forced open, and the object seized either with the hand or with 

 forceps. Needles are nearly always found penetrating the tongue 

 from behind forwards, assuming this position in consequence of the 

 struggles of the animal when choking, or the attempts it makes to 

 displace the needle. 



Injuries to the hard palate are sometimes complicated with severe 

 bleeding, and require most careful attention. When the palatine 



