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EXAMINATIONS OF THE MOUTH. 179
hard shot or ball that is not readily compressible, or if it is
stopped by the pressure of a second finger upon the artery above
the one with which the examination is made, it would be described
as a quick pulse, one in which the pulsation passes under the
finger quickly and is gone, as distinguished from the frequent
pulse. A quick pulse may be an infrequent pulse or a frequent
pulse.
The opposite of the quick pulse is the slow pulse, where the
pulsations may be of the usual frequency but are much longer in
passing under the finger. The upward beat of the pulsation
comes slowly and it dies away slowly, leaving but a limited space
between the two, varying from the normal in the slowness of
the pulsation in passing under the finger, as contrasted with the
pulsation that passes under the finger quickly like a shot. Such
a pulse may be frequent, normal or infrequent.
The quick pulse is apt to represent a condition of general
tension or nervous excitability, while the slow pulse, other things
being equal, represents a languid condition of the general system
and may be induced by severe disease, but does not otherwise
appear prominently in the person's appearance. Persons pre-
senting either of these extremes in the quality of pulse are not
in good condition to endure long-continued painful operations in
the dental chair.
Being satisfied as to the general condition of the patient, the
examination of the mouth should proceed. In doing this, it is
usually best to so raise or lower the chair to bring the head of the
patient to the proper height, with the chair thrown a little bit
back, in a position between that which we would use for opera-
tions upon the lower and the upper teeth, in order that both the
teeth of the upper jaw and the lower jaw may be seen without
changing the position of the chair. Then it is best to take the
position of right side behind, and passing the fore-finger of each
hand into the mouth, one on either side, raise the lips and exam-
ine the buccal mucous membrane as far as can be done by the
eye ; or this may be examined first on one side and then on the
other. One should look particularly for any points of swelling
or of abnormal redness, and for the openings of abscesses upon
the mucous membranes of both the upper and lower jaws. It
is best to run the eye around the teeth, particularly noting, as
far as practicable with the eye, the conditions present, and espe-
cially the condition as to cleanliness. This will give the operator
a fair indication as to the care the patient is taking of his teeth.
A similar examination of the lingual mucous membranes