258 DISEASES OF THE TONGUE. 



dog often bites his own tongue, or that of another dog, in fighting 

 or playing. 



Diagnosis presents no difficulty. The irritation in the mouth, 

 salivation, want of appetite, " quidding " of food, or slow, cautious 

 mastication readily indicate the nature of the injury and its extent. 

 Healing is usually rapid and certain, though transverse wounds of 

 the tongue may leave a deep depression. But even this is no great 

 drawback, and is only worth notice inasmuch as the animal wastes 

 food in eating, and the tongue may be lacerated if forcibly handled 

 during examination. But a portion of the tongue may be torn away 

 in the first instance or later, and if the frsenum linguae be involved, 

 mastication will be rendered difficult. 



The attempts to cure protrusion of the tongue have shown that 

 in horses the removal of 3 — 4 inches causes no inconvenience. But 

 where more is lost the animals are unable to bring the food between 

 the back teeth. At times they seek to effect this by holding the 

 head in the air like chickens when drinking, but at best some food 

 must be wasted, and mastication takes longer. 



Graf records that a horse, which had lost the point of the tongue, 

 had severe swelling of the remainder, accompanied by salivation 

 and inability to eat solid food : only fluids and mashes could be 

 taken. When the wound had cicatrised, the stump only extended 

 about J of an inch beyond the first molar. In three weeks the horse 

 could again eat ordinary food, but took three times as long as formerly 

 to do so. Liidecke described a similar case, in which the tongue 

 was lost as far as the border of the frsenum, but nevertheless the 

 horse could eat as usual. Cadiot and Dollar describe two cases, 

 in one of which the right side of the tongue was lost from a point 

 just in front of the first molars ; recovery occurred in about three 

 weeks, and there was no subsequent difficulty in prehension or 

 mastication. In the other the tongue was divided transversely, the 

 stump only extending two inches below the first molars. Despite 

 the mutilation there was no difficulty in grasping or masticating 

 food (" Clinical Veterinary Medicine and Surgery "). 



In dogs defects in the tongue interfere especially with drinking, 

 as some of the water flows back. But in time both dogs and horses 

 learn to eat and drink in the usual manner. The superficial vessels 

 are sometimes torn, but as the lingual artery may not be divided, 

 the nutrition of the anterior part of the tongue is seldom interfered 

 with. When, however, this artery is torn, necrosis of the point 

 of the tongue may easily follow. Severe bleeding after the injury 

 is, therefore, an unfavourable symptom. Cagny shows that even 



