194 
On the Teeth and Poison 
already seen from the anterior extremity of the short club- 
shaped superior maxillary. Long, tapering, and recurved, it 
is immoveably attached to the bone which supports it, and 
is not capable of any independent motion. On looking at¬ 
tentively at its anterior and convex surface, when in its 
natural position, a small speck may be seen, even by the 
naked eye, close to its pointed or distal extremity ; and 
another is visible at its base just as it rises above the socket 
or alveolus. On examination by a microscope, these specks 
dilate, and are found to be the openings of a canal which 
runs through the whole length of the fang; and the proximal 
orifice, that is the one next the base, is that to which the 
membranous tube or duct, which conveys the poison from 
the secreting apparatus, is attached. This duct therefore 
does not rise through the root of the tooth, as is sometimes 
supposed; it has only to wind round the external surface of 
the superior maxillary, under cover of the mucous membrane 
alone, to become at once applied to the orifice of the dental 
canal, which I may again mention i3 visible just above the 
alveolar process of the hone. 
From its great length, slender form, and recurved shape, 
the fang is exceedingly liable to be injured, and in dissections 
i have very frequently found one, and sometimes even both, 
broken. This, however, is only a temporary loss; just 
behind it, as I have already mentioned, a large cavity, partly 
membranous and partly osseous, is devoted to the reserve 
fangs. Of these, as many us six may generally be reckoned, 
but I suspect an unlimited number may be produced if 
necessary, as it almost requires a microscope to make out. the 
smallest of them distinctly; they lie, or rather are packed, 
in a state of supraposilion, their points looking backwards, 
and the most superficial, [being by far the most perfect] is that 
which is first called upon to do duty in case of accident to 
the fixed fang. The manner in which this process lakes place 
is readily traced ; when a fang is injured, its vitality seems at 
