I 



76 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



that this barbarous operation facilitates the penetration of foreign bodies into the 

 salivary canal, the entrance to which is thus no longer protected. 



5. The Tongue (Figs. 25 and 26). 



Situation; Limits; Anatomical Base. The tongue is an 

 organ of prehension and mastication of the aliment, of gustation and 

 deglutition, placed in the lingual canal, and which completely fills the 

 mouth when the jaws are in apposition. It is related above to the 

 hard palate ; in front, to the incisor teeth and the lips ; on each side, to 

 the bars, the molar teeth, and the cheeks ; and behind, to the soft palate. 



The principal structures entering into its organization are five 

 pairs of muscles. 



Anatomically, it is divided into two portions : anterior, or free, and 

 posterior, or fixed. The free portion is spatula-shaped and flattened 

 from above to below. A fold of mucous membrane of a triangular 

 form is detached from the middle of its inferior face and attached to 

 the body of the inferior maxillary bone. This is the frcenum, or ante- 

 rior pillar of the tongue. It limits to a certain degree the movements 

 of this organ. 



Its examination, which should be made at the same time as 

 that of the teeth, is conducted as follows, supposing the operator to 

 stand on the left side (Fig. 26) : The left hand seizes the inferior lip 

 or is placed upon the anterior face of the nose to steady the head. The 

 right hand seizes the tongue ; the middle and index fingers are intro- 

 duced between the lips into the mouth on a level with the bars, and the 

 organ is grasped. Being thus held between these two fingers above 

 and the thumb and anntilaris below, it is withdrawn from the mouth 

 and, with its adjacent parts, carefully inspected. To examine the base 

 of the tongue, it is necessary to stand in front of the head and allow 

 the light to shine into the buccal cavity. 



These manoeuvres must be practised with the greatest gentle- 

 ness. Excessive traction will be painful to the animal and make 

 him insubordinate ; it may also cause a rupture of the stylo-glossus 

 muscle, which we have several times proved by dissection, 1 as well as 

 the genio-glossus and the frsenum. On account of the pain which is 

 produced, certain dealers, without doubt, do not hesitate to practise 

 this barbarous act on horses suffering from immobility, to make them 

 timid and cause them to " back." 



1 A. Goubaux, De quelques pratiques barbares auxquelles on a recours pour examiner la 

 bouche du cheval, pour determiner son age, pour le faire reculer, etc. (Journal de l'e"cole de 

 Lyon, 1866, p. 335.) 



