CHAPTER Vni. 



OPERATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE 

 APPARATUS. 



ON THE TEETH. 



The office fulfilled by tlie dental system in the preliminary 

 preparation of the ingesta, and the first step in the process of di- 

 gestion, is necessarily one of the utmost imj^ortance. Of course, 

 therefore, any diseased conditions which may interfere with its 

 efficient action, especially with the herbivorous animals, become 

 matters of deep interest to the veterinary practitioner. All facts 

 and circumstances concur to establish and substantiate the claims 

 of that branch of veterinary science which refers to the care 

 of the teeth as a very important specialty, and we shall, there- 

 fore, so estimate and so elucidate the subject of vetermary dentis- 

 try, so successfully studied and so largely developed in recent 

 years by American veterinarians. 



The diseases of the teeth to which our domestic animals are 

 subject may be due to various pathological conditions. The den- 

 tal arches formed by their arrangement in the jaw may be the 

 seat of congenital deformity ; the teeth may possess abnormal 

 qualities in respect to their number, their shape and their direc- 

 tion ; or, again, in the condition of their grinding siirfaces, and 

 there may also be special diseases of the elementary substances 

 of the tooth itself.* 



The abnormahty which exists in relation to the number of the 

 teeth is of not vincommon occurrence in horses, in which animal we 

 sometimes discover the j)resence of supplementary molars, resulting 

 either from the persistence of a temj)orary tooth which has failed 

 to be shed at the proper time, or may be due to an excess of de- 

 velopment in the evolution of a dental foUicle, as we may observe 

 in the formation of the v;olf tooth. 



In relation to the shape of the dental arches, there are cases 



» We take pleasure in recommending, in connection with this subject, the excellent 

 little work on Horses' Teeth, written by Mr. William H. Clarke. 



