The Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Remedial Treatment of the Fifth Pair of Nerves. [Volume: 2, Issue: 3, October, 1860, pp. 138-144]

138

THE DENTAL COSMOS.

the plate would cause them to wear also; but time has shown that this
is not the case. We account for this by supposing that when the teeth
come in contact with sufficient force, they disintegrate each other, and the
surfaces become more or less rough and operate to produce the abrasion
in the same way as if two bricks were rubbed together. We believe the
precaution is taken, in the mechanic arts, where friction is unavoidable, that two substances of equal density are not brought together, in
order to avoid consequent wearing. We give a cut here which illustrates
a case where the six lower front teeth strike
the four superior incisors and the anterior
portions of the canines. The wearing of the
upper teeth was so great, that the pulp of the
right front incisor became exposed before
there was any cementurn thrown out to protect it, and the tooth had to be extracted, as the periosteum became so
irritable. All the lower teeth behind the canines have been extracted for
want of a proper appreciation of their importance. Many patients'
mouths are ruined, simply because neither they nor their dentists care
about preserving the back teeth. The plate here is allowed to extend
over the worn surfaces of the remaining front teeth, and the abrasion is
arrested. We have placed lower back teeth in this mouth also; we do
this in many cases, and the advantages are very great. Do dentists pay
enough attention to this?
(To be continued.)
THE ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, AND REMEDIAL
TREATMENT OF THE FIFTH PAIR OF NERVES.
BY J. H. M'QUILLEN, D.D.S.
[Continued from page 88.]
THE marked resemblance between the spinal nerves and the fifth pair of
nerves in their mode of origin by two roots, anterior and posterior, the
ganglionic expansion upon the latter, the union of the anterior root with
the inferior maxillary nerve, the division, subdivision, distribution and
connection of the different branches with each other and with other
nerves, and with the cranial sympathetic ganglion, having been described
and illustrated, the next step is to consider the functions of this remarkable
nerve.
To determine these functions, the most extended investigations and
experiments have been made by numerous observers, among whom Sir
Charles Bell, Magendie, Mayo, and Bernard have been the most indefatigable and successful. Although physiologists are united in opinion, except
in some collateral details, there still appears to be some important points