Handbook for Royal Naval dental surgery attendants.

  • British Admiralty Office
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Handbook for Royal Naval dental surgery attendants. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    oe so bee THE DENTAL TISSUES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE CHAPTER 1 DENTAL ANATOMY GENERAL deals not only with the teeth but with the surrounding structures, and |e dental surgeon is more properly an oral surgeon, inasmuch as he is responsible for the health of the mouth tissues generally. In order that the dental surgery attendant may perform his professional duties with intelligence, some knowledge of the anatomy of the mouth, together with some elementary pathology and bacteriology, are desirable. The mouth or oral cavity is the entrance to the alimentary canal, which consists of mouth, pharynx, oesophagus or gullet, stomach, small and large intestine or bowel. The mouth is a cavity formed by the upper jaw or superior maxilla, the lower jaw, or inferior maxilla or mandible, and the various structures, such as muscles, etc., which connect them and form the lips, cheeks and floor of mouth. Both jaws have a roughly semi-circular ridge of bone, the alveolar process, in which the teeth are set. The mouth is almost entirely filled by the tongue, a highly specialized mass of muscle, which has on its upper surface the taste-buds by which we savour our food. It has also a very delicate sense of touch and of temperature. It can be moved in any direction and can assume an infinite variety of shapes, thus enabling it to take part in speech, chewing, swallowing, detecting rough particles in food, guarding against too hot food and drink, and keeping the teeth and mouth clean. The mouth and tongue are covered by mucous membrane. This secretes mucous, which acts as a lubricant. The membrane covering the alveolar process is thick and tough, and is called the gum. In addition to mucous another fluid is poured into the mouth, the saliva. This is secreted by three pairs of salivary glands :— (1) the parotid glands, which lie in the cheeks just in front of, and below the ears, each having a duct (Stenson’s duct) which opens into the mouth opposite the upper second molars ; (2) the submaxillary glands, situated below the lower jaw in the molar region, on either side of the mid-line, each having a duct (Whartons duct) which opens on the floor of the mouth under the tongue ; and
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