Surgical and Obstetrical Operations. 



I. SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 



OPERATIONS ON THE HEAD. 



I. EXTRACTION OF TEETH. 



Plates I and II.' 



Prefatory remarks. The grinding teeth of the horse 

 consisting of three molars and three premolars in each row 

 are of such dimensions and attachments that their removal 

 in case of disease or defect often presents diiBculties of no 

 small degree. 



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

 tion and most of the 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 with age and the proportion 

 of the intra- to the extra-alveolar part gradually decreases 

 until in very old animals the alveoli become obliterated and 

 the last vestige of what was once the apex of the fang rests 

 insecurely in the buccal mucous membrane. 



The facility with which teeth may be extracted increases 

 as the age of the animal increases, being easily drawn with 

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

 the young horse we have not been able to extract them with 

 forceps of any kind, except in those cases where they have 

 become .somewhat loosened as a result of disease or accident. 

 When aberrations in development occur, leading to the for- 

 mation of dental tumors or odontomes the possibility' of ex- 

 traction by means of forceps is frequently wholly excluded 

 and 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 necessary, in order 



