332 OPEEATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



when the saliva which flows from the mouth is abundant, gluey 

 and foetid in odor ; when the mouth is hot, the mucous membrane 

 injected, and in the regions where this dififused iaflammation has 

 started, lesions are apparent corresponding to the cause that pro- 

 duced them, such as deep cuts on the internal face of the cheeks, 

 which have been torn by the asperities of the teeth ; when there is 

 swelling and redness of the gum at the point where it is inflamed ; 

 when there is enlargement of the bone, with a grayish hue at the 

 point where it is exposed and in process of sloughing; or again if 

 these fistulas penetrating the spongy tissues of the maxillary bone 

 — all this becomes evident under the careful and accurate manip- 

 ulation of the instructed fingers. 



Besides the exhibition of the general symptoms belonging to 

 all diseases of the dental apparatus, caries of these organs is 

 characterized by some special characters belonging to them ex- 

 clusively. Principal among these is the peculiar fcetor of the in- 

 terior of the mouth and of the saliva flowing from it, which is 

 sui generis. There is also the escape from the mouth of this 

 saliva in excessive quantity and in long, slobbering masses. Then 

 there is the existence on one of the faces of the carious tooth, and 

 principally on the crown, of a blackish spot, or of a hole, or of a 

 large excavation, penetrating the substance of the tooth at a vary- 

 ing depth, according to the extent of the disease and the duration 

 of its existence — the violent pain experienced by the animal when 

 the percussion is applied on the tooth, or its cavity explored with 

 the instrument — the swollen condition of the gum surrounding the 

 diseased tooth; its red color; its want of adherence in some places, 

 and the hemorrhage with the oozing of pus when pressure is ap- 

 pUed directly over those same places ; the soiled appearance of 

 the dental surfaces on the side of the diseased tooth, caused by 

 particles of food remaining adherent to their anfractuosities, and 

 filling up the cavity of the carious tooth, or forcing themselves 

 between the tooth and the gum, and spreading, difl'using the most 

 repulsive odor — these all belong to a carious condition of one or 

 more of the teeth. But if in addition to this the caries is of long 

 standing, and has advanced towards the root of the tooth, the or- 

 dinary complications pertaining to its development in the maxil- 

 lary bone at the alveola take place, and that point becomes the 

 seat of an inflammatory swelling, manifested externally by a pain- 

 ful enlargement, hot and cedematous, which gradually increases. 



