CHAPTER Vni. 



OPERATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE 

 APPARATUS. 



ON THE TEETH. 



The office fulfilled by the dental system in the preliminary 

 preparation of the iagesta, and the first step in the process of di- 

 gestion, is necessarily one of the utmost importance. Of course, 

 therefore, any diseased conditions which may interfere with its 

 efficient action, especially with the herbivorous animals, become 

 matters of deep interest to the veterinary practitioner. AU facts 

 and circumstances concur to establish and substantiate the claims 

 of that branch of veterinary science which refers to the care 

 of the teeth as a very important specialty, and we shall, there- 

 fore, so estimate and so elucidate the subject of veterinary dentis- 

 try, so successfully studied and so largely developed hx recent 

 years by American veteriaarians. 



The diseases of the teeth to which our domestic animals are 

 subject may be due to various pathological conditions. The den- 

 tal arches formed by their arrangement lq the jaw may be the 

 seat of congenital deformity; the teeth may possess abnormal 

 quahties ia respect to their number, their shape and their direc- 

 tion ; or, again, in the condition of their grinding surfaces, and 

 there may also be special diseases of the elementary substances 

 of the tooth itself.* 



The abnormality which exists in relation to the number of the 

 teeth is of not uncommon occurrence in horses, iu which animal we 

 sometimes discover the presence of supplementary molars, resulting 

 either from the persistence of a temporary tooth which has faUed 

 to be shed at the proper time, or may be due to an excess of de- 

 velopment m the evolution of a dental foUicle, as we may observe 

 iu the formation of the loolf tooth. 



In relation to the shape of the dental arches, there are cases 



* We take pleasure in recommending. In connection with tUs subject, tlie excellent 

 little work on Horses' Teeth, written by Mr. William H. Clarke. 



