Head 
paired, flattened, pyramidal toruli, the tips of which 
are oriented towards the Hps; these are the sub- 
lingual carunculae {carunculae sublinguales) 
through which the ducts of the mandibular and the 
sublingual glands discharge. 
C. cricetus has an especially well-developed 
spoon-shaped tongue (lingua) (30-55 mm long and 
10-12 mm wide); since the tip is not attached at the 
sides, it is freely mobile (Fig. 2-47). The rostral 
portion of the tongue is so broad that its surface 
accounts for about two-thirds of the total area. The 
tip of the tongue (apex linguae) is approximately 
twice as wide as the body (corpus linguae) which is 
situated between the molars. The median sulcus 
(sulcus medianus linguae) is restricted to the dorsal 
surface of the tip of the tongue. The root of the 
tongue (radix linguae) coalesces ventrolaterally 
with the surrounding tissue. 
Located on the keratinized stratified squamous epithelium of the 
tongue are numerous papillae {papillae Imguales ). 
Multiple small, filiform papillae, scarcely visible 
to the naked eye, are distributed over the lateral and 
ventral surfaces of the tongue (Fig. 2-52), confer- 
ring a velvety texture to the surface. 
-At the root of the tongue, seromucous glandular bundles can be 
identified. 
2.12 TEETH 
The dentition (denies) of the European hamster 
is composed only of incisors (denies incisivi) and 
molars (denies molares); canines (denies canini) 
and premolars (denies premolares) are lacking 
(Figs. 2-53, 2-54). In total there are 4 incisors and 
12 molars arranged in the following manner: 
ll 
1 0 0 3 
Only a single generation of permanent teeth (den- 
ies permanenles) is present. 
The incisors are very long rooted and ever- 
growing. The roots of the lower incisors pass nearly 
through the entire length of the mandible, terminat- 
ing caudal to the roots of the last molar (Fig. 2-53). 
About one-third of the lower incisor is erupted, 
while two-thirds is seated in the alveolus (alveolus 
dentalis). The crowns (corona denlis) of the upper 
incisors are much shorter (4 mm) than those of the 
lower incisors (10-12 mm) (Fig. 2-53); corres- 
pondingly, their roots (radices denies) penetrate 
the premaxilla only to the level of the first molars. 
The labial surface of the incisors is coated with 
whitish-yellow enamel. The cross section of the 
upper incisor within the alveolus changes rostro- 
caudally from oval (Fig. 2-11), to triangular (Fig. 
2-12), and finally becomes round at the base (Fig. 
2-13). The pulp cavity is long and narrow. The 
configuration of the temporomandibular joint 
(arliculalio lemporomandibularis) and of the cor- 
responding articular process (processus condylaris) 
of the jaw is such as to permit fore and aft move- 
ment of the jaw. Consequently, the positions of the 
upper and lower incisors can vary greatly relative 
to one another, while the molars are in occlusion, 
the lower incisors are retracted out of contact with 
the upper incisors (Fig. 2-53), but during gnaw- 
ing the lower incisors work against the labial side of 
the upper incisors. In addition, the mandibular 
symphysis (symphisis inlermandibularis) does not 
fuse completely even in adults, and therefore inde- 
pendent movement of each jaw is possible (Haber- 
mehl, 1970a, b on the Chinese hamster); this is 
more prominent, however, in juveniles. 
The molar tooth rows are not parallel, but con- 
verge slightly towards the midline caudally, so that 
the first molars are more widely separated than are 
the third molars (especially for the upper dentition) 
(Fig. 2-54). The molar crowns are rectangular and 
flat, with three small cusps on the first, two cusps 
on the other two (Figs. 2-46, 2-47, 2-55, 2-56). 
The crown of the first lower molar is 3 mm long, 2 
mm wide and 1 .2 mm high. The roots are long and 
narrow (Fig. 2- 57). The first upper molar has four 
roots, the second and third but three roots. 
The first teeth to appear are the incisors, which 
erupt on the 4th and 5th day postpartum. There- 
after, the first mandibular and maxillary molars 
follow on about the 10th or 11th day; the second 
molar appears in both the upper and lower jaws 
around the 20th day; and the third molar erupts 
on the 33rd day, completing the dentition. 
2.13 SALIVARY GLANDS 
The secretion of the salivary glands (gll. oris), 
the saliva, wets the food as well as the wall of the 
oral and pharyngeal cavities and begins the diges- 
tive process. 
27 
