92 THEORY AND PRACTICE 



DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 



CONGESTION OF THE BUCCAL MEMBRANE. 



Definition. — This condition is a congestion of the mucous lin- 

 ing of the mouth. It occurs in young animals during teething. 

 When a temporary tooth drops out and a permanent one comes 

 in its place, this produces a circulatory disturbance. The buccal 

 membrane may also become congested as the result of gastric in- 

 digestion. 



*'Lampas" is really an imaginary disease. It is nothing but 

 the congestion of the bars of the mouth. The bars hang down 

 usually on a level with the upper incisors, sometimes below in 

 old horses. Disease of the bars never occurs except in punct- 

 ure or injury. If a horse does not eat, a quack may be called to 

 look into his mouth ; he sees the bars projecting down, and as a 

 bluff he says its the **lampas." Or the horse falls into the hands 

 of some horse-shoer, who says that the bars must be turned out. 

 This is cruelty to animals. The bars in a horse's mouth are for 

 the purpose of keeping the oats inside the mouth while being 

 chewed. 



You cannot ignore the owner's diagnosis of 'iampas." Take 

 your knife and scarify the first bar about 1-3 of an inch deep. 

 Then give the animal a mouth lotion, bicarbonate of soda, or 

 borax and charge your client $2.00! If your client will permit 

 you, examine the animal further to find the reason of his not 

 eating. 



Dentition and indigestion are the two main causes of sore 

 mouth. In children, puppies and pigs, convulsions may occur 

 as a result of the nervous disturbance accompanying the erup- 

 tion of a tooth. This can be relieved by scarifying the gum. 



Hemorrhage of the Palatine Artery. — The palatine artery is 

 often wounded by empirics who try to scarify the bars in case of 

 the so-called lampas. The tissues around the artery are very 

 firm and do not contract down upon it when wounded as with 

 other vessels. When such a condition falls into your hands, put 

 on your overalls and gown, for the blood will spurt and pour out 

 profusely. Take a tightly rolled wad of a substance like oak- 



