Page 73 - My FlipBook
P. 73
;
71
When the gum which covers the alveolar groove of a
foetus of the age above mentioned, is stript off from the bone,
small processes or elongations from the inner surface of the
gums may be distinctly perceived ; these are the first ap-
pearances of the pulps from which the teeth are formed.
The alveolar processes soon become perfectly distinct
for, the bony partitions which divide the longitudinal cavity
in the jaw, rise to the upper margin ; and thus those mem-
branous processes, now enlarged and become more evolved,
begin to be contained in separate cells.
In a foetus of about four months old, the rudiments of the
teeth may be distinctly seen ; upon examining those substan-
ces found in the jaws, they are seen to be soft or pulpy
bodies, bearing a resemblance to the figure of the body of
the tooth to be formed, and each of them is contained in a
membrane proper to itself.
For sometime during the formation of the teeth, the alveoli
grow much faster than the teeth themselves, which are conse-
quently but loosely contained within them. At the time of
birth, the alveolar processes have increased so much, that
they almost enclose or cover the teeth. ; thus a firm support
is given to the gums, and the infant is enabled to make con-
siderable pressure in sucking, &c, without injury to the pro-
gress which is going on underneath.
The ossification of the teeth begins to take place very
early ; it is first visible upon the tips of the incisores. In a
foetus of about five or six months, ossification has commen-
ced upon the pulps of the incisores and cuspidati, and on the
points of the molares ; this gradually advances and extends
itself over the pulp, down to the neck of the tooth, from the
cutting edges of the highest points, where it had first com-
menced.
71
When the gum which covers the alveolar groove of a
foetus of the age above mentioned, is stript off from the bone,
small processes or elongations from the inner surface of the
gums may be distinctly perceived ; these are the first ap-
pearances of the pulps from which the teeth are formed.
The alveolar processes soon become perfectly distinct
for, the bony partitions which divide the longitudinal cavity
in the jaw, rise to the upper margin ; and thus those mem-
branous processes, now enlarged and become more evolved,
begin to be contained in separate cells.
In a foetus of about four months old, the rudiments of the
teeth may be distinctly seen ; upon examining those substan-
ces found in the jaws, they are seen to be soft or pulpy
bodies, bearing a resemblance to the figure of the body of
the tooth to be formed, and each of them is contained in a
membrane proper to itself.
For sometime during the formation of the teeth, the alveoli
grow much faster than the teeth themselves, which are conse-
quently but loosely contained within them. At the time of
birth, the alveolar processes have increased so much, that
they almost enclose or cover the teeth. ; thus a firm support
is given to the gums, and the infant is enabled to make con-
siderable pressure in sucking, &c, without injury to the pro-
gress which is going on underneath.
The ossification of the teeth begins to take place very
early ; it is first visible upon the tips of the incisores. In a
foetus of about five or six months, ossification has commen-
ced upon the pulps of the incisores and cuspidati, and on the
points of the molares ; this gradually advances and extends
itself over the pulp, down to the neck of the tooth, from the
cutting edges of the highest points, where it had first com-
menced.
