THE BEAD AND NECK 



109 



indications can generally be seen on the bone, if they 

 have been present. 



General Characters and Structure of Teeth. — Before 

 describing the teeth of the horse a little more in detail, 

 it will be necessary to give some slight account of the 

 characters and structure of these organs in general, in 

 order that the special descriptions may be better under- 

 stood. 



Every tooth may be divided into two principal parts, 

 a 4 crown,' and a ' root ' (sometimes erroneously called 

 £ fang' ). The part connecting the two, often indicated 

 by a constriction, is called the c neck.' The crown is 

 the only part which is seen in the living animal, the 

 root being implanted in a socket in the bone, just as the 

 roots of a tree are in the ground. The crown may be 

 variously shaped — conical and pointed, chisel- or awl- 

 shaped, broad, flat, or rounded ; or it may be complicated 

 by the development upon its surface of elevations or 

 tubercles, called cusps, or by variously-disposed crests 

 or ridges. The root may be single, or divided into two 

 or more conical, tapering branches. 



In structure, the teeth are composed of several dis- 

 tinct substances, differing from each other in character 

 and degree of hardness. The most important of these 

 are : — 



1. Tke pulp, a soft substance, abundantly supplied 

 with blood-vessels and nerves, constitutes the central 



