THE PALATE. 133 



" THE BONES OF THE MOUTH. 



The bones in and giving form to the mouth, are the superior maxillary* 

 or upper ja^v (6, p. 63, and I, p. &^^, containing the grinders, the ante- 

 rior maxillary, or lower part of the upper jaw (6, p. 63, n, p. 66, r, p. 68), 

 containing the upper-nippers or cutting-teeth ; the palatine bone (below 8, 

 p. 68), and the posterior maxillary or under jaw (f/, p. 63, and w, p. 68), 

 containing all the under teeth. We will speak of them very shortly, in the 

 order in which we have mentioned them. 



The superior maxillary is, with the exception of the lower jaw, the largest 

 bone in the face. It unites above with the lachrymal bone (/, p. 66) ; and, 

 more on the side, with the malar or cheek bone, k ; and a portion of it, con- 

 tinued upward, and underneath, enters into the orbit. Above, and on the 

 front of the face, it unites with the bones of the nose, j, and below, with 

 the inferior maxillary, n. That which most deserves notice in it, externally, 

 is the ridge or spine, seen at 6, p. 63, but better delineated in the cut of 

 the head,^p. 67, continued from the base of the zygomatic arch, and across 

 the malar bone. It and the surface beneath serve to give attachment to 

 the masseter muscle, concerned almost as much as the temporal one, in 

 the act of chewing. The dark spot {m, p. Q^, and seen likewise at 

 p. 63) marks the foramen or hole, through which a branch of the fifth pair 

 of nerves proceeds to give sensibility to the lower part of the face. As it 

 approaches the teeth, this bone separates into two plates, and these are 

 divided by long partitions, which contain and firmly hold the upper 

 grinders. The lower plate then projects inwards, and forms {t, p. 68) the 

 principal portion of the roof of the mouth, and the floor of the cavity of the 

 nose. The corresponding bone on the other side meets its fellow in the 

 centre of the palate. The upper jaw-bone contains in it large cavities, 

 beside the cavities for the teeth, and these open into and enlarge the cavity 

 of the nose. They are connected with the voice, but not with the smell, 

 for the expansion of the olfactory or smelling nerve has never been traced 

 beyond the bones and membranes of the proper cavity of the nose. The 

 maxillary sinuses are generally filled with matter in bad cases of glanders. 



Below these are the anterior maxillary bones (/, p. 63, a. p. 68), con 

 taining the upper cutting teeth, with the tushes belonging both to the upper 

 and anterior bones. These are the bones to which (see cut, p. 68) the 

 upper lip is attached. The superior and anterior maxillary bones are sepa- 

 rated in animals with long faces, like the horse, that by overlapping each 

 other strength might be gained. 



The palatine bone forms but a very small portion of the palate. It 

 surrounds the edge of the communication between the cavity of the nose 

 and the back parts of the mouth. 



THE PALATE. 



Adhering to a portion of all three of the bones just described, and being 

 the lining of the roof of the mouth, is the hard palate, {t, p. 68,) composed 

 of a firm dense substance divided into several ridges called bars. The 

 cut gives a view of them. 



Tiie cut will point out the bleeding place, if the horse should be attacked 

 with the megrims on a journey, and the rider or driver should not have a 

 lancet. Precisely in a line between the middle and second cutting teeth, 

 and a little more than an inch within the mouth, the artery and vein make 

 a curve. They may there be cut down upon with a sharp knife, and a 



