Surgical and Obstetrical Operations. 



I. SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 



I. OPERATIONS ON THE HEAD. 

 TOOTH OPERATIONS. 



Prefatory remarks. The grinding teeth of the horse 

 consisting ot three premolars and three molars in each row 

 are of such dimensions and attachments that their removal 

 in case of disease or defect often presents difficulties of no 

 small degree. 



These teeth attain their greatest size at the time of erup- 

 tion and most of each tooth remains firmly imbedded in its 

 alveolus while a very shallow crown projects into the buccal 

 cavity. The teeth are gradually pushed out of their alveoli 

 as their crowns are worn away by attrition as age advances 

 and the proportion of the intra- to the extra-alveolar part 

 gradually decreases until in very old animals the alveoli be- 

 come obliterated and the last vestige of what was once the 

 apex of the fang rests insecurely in the buccal mucosa. 



The facility with which teeth may be extracted increases 

 as the age of the animal, being as a rule easily drawn with 

 forceps in old, while in case of freshly erupted teeth in 

 young horses it may be almost or quite impossible to extract 

 them with forceps of any kind, except in those cases where 

 they have become somewhat loosened as the result of disease 

 or accident. When aberrations in development occur, lead- 

 ing to the formation of dental tumors or odontomes the 

 possibility of extraction by means of forceps is frequently 

 wholly excluded. In cases where dental disorder has led to 

 empyema of the facial sinuses, even if the tooth may be 

 drawn by means of forceps, further operation is generally 



