128 ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 



persistently, and at the same time incorporate it with the 

 abundant saliva essential to the proper digestion of amyla- 

 ceous food. In ruminants the food is first passed by the 

 molars with only nominal comminution, but when it is re- 

 gurgitated during rumination it is as carefully masticated as 

 in the non-ruminating animal. Besides the function of mas- 

 tication and insalivation, the molars might correctly be class- 

 ified as tactile organs, as they readily detect the presence of 

 undesirable particles of food. 



In the carnivora the molars serve to crack hard objects, 

 as bones, into smaller particles and to divide large pieces of 

 flesh into smaller ones simultaneously with surrounding the 

 particles with a slimy coat of saliva to facilitate deglutition. 

 In these animals- they are not essential organs, as the food 

 may be bolted without material impairment of the general 

 health, while in the herbivora the molars are as essential to 

 the life of the animal as any of the internal digestive organs. 



PREHENSION. 



The function of prehension is performed by the lips, in- 

 cisor teeth, canine teeth and tongue. When the food has 

 passed the incisors and canines, and the mouth is closed, it is 

 drawn backward to the molars by suction. The organs of 

 prehension named in the order of their importance in the dif- 

 ferent animals are as follows : 



Horse: (i), the lips; (2), the incisor teeth; (3), the 

 tongue. 



Ruminants: (i), the tongue; (2), the incisor teeth and 

 dental pad; (3), the lips. 



Carnivora: (i), the canine teeth; (2), the tongue; (3), 

 the incisor teeth; (4), the lips. In the ingestion of liquids 

 the tongue alone performs the function by dashing the liquid 

 well backward into the mouth. 



