358 OPEEATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



If several teeth are loose, and their loss is thi-eatened, the bet- 

 ter course in regard to their extraction will be to remove them 

 singly, and not all at the same time, lest a serious hemorrhage 

 might supervene, v^hich might even endanger the animal's life. 



OPEEATIONS ON THE TONGUE. 



The pathological lesions to which this member of the digestive 

 apparatus is subject, and which may require surgical interference, 

 are principally wounds and tumors, the former demanding either 

 sutures or amputations of the organ, partial or complete. The 

 latter, however, present a greater variety of indications, according 

 to the nature of the neoplasm with which the organ may be af- 

 fected. Wounds of the tongue are quite frequent, but the most 

 common are probably those of the lacerated kind, though again, 

 they may be the result of contusion, incision, or may even be caused 

 by burns. 



Produced generally by self-inflicted bites, caused by falling, 

 or during epileptic seizures, they are usually made by the incisors. 

 A badly made bit, or a halter or rope tightly binding the mouth 

 and pressing down the tongue, may also jjroduce a bruise, or even 

 a complete laceration of the organ. They are also not uncom- 

 monly seen as the result of bites inflicted by one animal upon an- 

 other, placed in an adjoining stall, when the separation between 

 them has been insufficient. In these cases, not only a portion of 

 the tongue, but often also the frsenum may be more or less lacer- 

 ated — a condition which may also take place when the tongue 

 has been puUed out by an assistant, a groom or other person, and 

 the horse rebelling, pulls back violently and suddenly. Against 

 such opposite forces the soft structure of the fraenum readily 

 gives away. The burnt wound, or scalding of the tongue, may 

 arise from the administration of a drench not sufficiently cooled, or 

 of too irritating a nature. The common way of steaming horses 

 with bran heated with boiling water, is also an occasional cause. 



Injuries such as these are generally easily detected, present- 

 ing, as they do, a series of symptoms which may properly be 

 called general. Difficulty in eating, and a more or less abun- 

 dant flow of stringy saliva, which also may be mixed with blood, 

 is apt to be among the signs. In relation to the special char- 

 acters, noticeably, there may be in one case a protrusion of the 



