Sceva.l 



130 [March 1, 



Mr. Geo. Sceva exhibited some Hindoo skulls, and made 

 the following remarks : — 



I notice especially the shortness of the upper jaws and the fre- 

 quent absence of the third molars. 



The first specimen, from a person of about twenty-three years, had 

 fourteen teeth in the upper jaw, all of which were well formed and 

 free from any appearance of disease, but no trace of the third molars 

 (or wisdom teeth) could be found. The posterior part of the jaw 

 [maxillary tuberosity] presents the same appearance back of the 

 second molars as that of European skulls back of the third molars. 

 In the lower jaw the third molar is wanting on the left side, but 

 is present on the right, its roots being crowded backward and up- 

 ward into the ramus of the jaw. 



In the second specimen (age about thirty years), the third molar 

 is wanting on the right side of the upper jaw, and on both sides of 

 the lower jaw. A section had been made with a fine saw, so that a 

 portion of the bone in both jaws could be removed and the internal 

 structure examined, but nothing was shown to indicate that the third 

 molars had ever existed. 



In the third specimen — of about the same age as the last — the 

 third molars are present but are crowded backward, their crowns 

 approaching near the external pterygoid plate; the lower jaw of this 

 specimen had not been preserved. 



In the fourth specimen (age about twenty years), the third mo- 

 lars are wanting on both sides. In this specimen is shown a 

 remarkable displacement of one of the canine teeth. The decid- 

 uous canine on the left side, instead of being shed as usual at the age 

 of about twelve years, has been retained, and the permanent canine 

 is found after cutting away a thin plate of bone, completely in- 

 verted, the point of its crown appearing a little below the orbit of 

 the eye. ~No trace, however, of the third molars is found. 



A great displacement of the teeth might often be observed in, 

 European skulls, but the cases in which there had been no develop- 

 ment of the third molars were exceedingly rare. In almost every 

 case where a third molar did not appear in its normal position in 

 European skulls, it might be found above, or between, the roots of 

 the second molar, or in some other part of the jaw. In the lower 

 jaw it had been found so far removed as to appear in the upper part 



