( AUXIVOIIA DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



381 



away. The canine?, temporary and permanent, are very large, strong, conical, 

 and curved outwards and backwards ; the upper ones are the largest, and have 

 a .-pace between them and the incisors, which 

 is the lower canines when the mouth is 

 shut. The molars, twelve in the upper, and 

 fourteen in the lower jaw, terminate in sharp 

 tions ; the last upper preniolar and the 

 first lower true molar are the largest, and 

 l>e ing furnished with cutting edges, they have 

 been termed the sectorial teeth, dens sec? 

 (" dent carnassiere : ' of Cuvier). The other 

 molars are slightly sectorial, and also tuber- 

 culate i.e., provided with processes for crush- 

 ing the food. 



The cat has only fourteen molars, eight above and six below ; the other 

 teeth are like those of the dog, making up a total of thirty. The formula 

 probably is : 



FIG. us. 

 Teeth of a Lion (Carnivora). 



3-3 T - 1 



3-3 



The last upper premolar, and all the lower molar and premolar teeth may be 

 said to be sectorial in this animal. 



The oesophagus is very dilatable, and presents a well-marked infundibuli- 

 form union with the stomach. 



FIG. 144. 



.Stomach of a Dog inflated, a, Cardiac por- 

 tion ; b, Pyloric portion ; c, CEsophageal orifice ; 

 d, Duodenum. 



Ccum and colon of a Dog inflated. 

 a, Ileum ; b, Caecum ; c, Colon. 



The stomach is simple and only slightly curved : it is commonly described 

 as pear-shaped, resembling that of the horse, but with a very small and narrow 

 pyloric portion, terminating in a constricted valve. The mucous membrane is 

 all villous, the natural food of these animals requiring but little preparation. 



The intestines are short and small. The small intestine is suspended by a 

 mesentery ; its walls are thick. The colon is somewhat larger than the small 

 intestines, and divided, as in man, into ascending, transverse, and descending 

 portions : the csecum is only a small, spiral appendix ; there is no floating 



