3 
NASAL CAVITY IN THE HORSE, &C. 
portant muscles, presently to be described. The inner surface of 
these processes forms an attachment for, and supports the lining 
membrane of, the nasal cavity anteriorly. 
These bones, of which there is one on each side, uniting, 
form the rounded extremity of the upper jaw, in which the incisor 
teeth are inserted, and from the under and palatine surface of 
which there proceed two long thin projections of bone, forming the 
anterior portion of the roof of the palate, and the floor of the 
nasal cavity. 
In the ox .—The anterior maxillaries of the ox, containing no 
incisor teeth, are small compared with those of the horse, and 
barely reach to the nasal bones. There is generally a small por¬ 
tion of cartilage, interposed between the extremity of the anterior 
borders of these bones, so that they seem to diverge from each 
other, forming a broad termination for the elastic pad or cushion, 
which is the substitute for teeth here; and the palatine processes 
are longer and narrower, and leave a considerable space unoccu¬ 
pied, except by soft substance, in the roof of the palate and the 
floor of the nose. 
In the sheep.— These bones are similarly constructed as in the 
ox, except that the anterior extremities, constituting the base of 
the muzzle, are not, comparatively, so broad. 
In the swine, for the purposes of strength and digging to 
which I have alluded, the anterior border is somewhat sharpened, 
leaving but a small space for the nostril; and he wants not a more 
extensive one, for he is not an animal possessed of remarkable 
speed. The process of the anterior maxillary, received between 
the superior one and the nasal bones, is very much longer. In 
the horse it is not one-tenth part of the length of the nasal bone. 
In the hog it reaches two-thirds of the way up that bone. The 
attachment between these bones is likewise a complicated one, and 
all this to give strength to the part. The palatine processes here 
are mere bony laminae. 
In the dog, a beast of prey, strength is required in the anterior 
maxillaries; therefore the border is short thick, and rounded; the 
opening of the nose is small, but round, instead of angular; the pro¬ 
cess between the superior maxillary and the nasal is long, but not 
so wide as in the hog; and the connexion between the bones is a 
denticulated and mortised one, and soon becomes obliterated. 
The palatine processes are wider than in the swine, but not so 
wide as in the sheep or the ox. 
The Palatine Bones .—Constituting the crescentic and poste¬ 
rior border of the palate and the nasal cavity, we find these bones. 
They are irregularly formed, and a perfect description of them 
would detain us for a length of time that we can ill spare. We 
