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THE ARABIANS VM

replanting w as alrtatl\ pcrtornicd, alrliough it is prohal^lc that the Hgature
was then left pernianenth .
The author sa\s, next, that the vacanc\- left h\' fallen teeth can he hlled
up with artiticial ones, made of ox hone, the\ also heing fixed in the manner
above described; and he adds that the\' will be found not onl\ of advantage
from the esthetic but also from the functional point of view.
Speaking of the cure of the ranula,' Abulcasis says that when the tumor,
examined h\ the clear light of the sun, appears brown or black, hard and
insensible, it is not to be operated, it heing rlien of a cancerous nature.
If, instead, it is whitish and full of li(juid, it must be seized with a hook,
and b\- means ot a tine scalpel extirpated. Ihe hemorrhage must be
combated with powdered blue vitriol. After the operation mouth washes
must be used of vinegar and salt.
In cases of fracture of the lower jaw- it is not only necessary to cure
the fracture itself according to the rules which the author prescribes
for the various cases, but it is also necessary to pa\- attention to the teeth
and with a gold or silver wire, or a silk thread, to tie, in the manner
already described, those teeth w^hich in consequence of the wound have
become loose, but the consolidation of which may be hoped for.

Fig. 55
^^-^^^\ •••• •• •• I

A dental Hie (Abulcasis).

Mesue the Younger, a disciple of Avicenna, is of opinion that
when a tooth is the seat of violent pain, this may easily propagate itself
to the other teeth; and therefore advises, if the pain does not soon cease,
to extract the tooth affected, without dela\-. This operation, however,
must not be performed, sa\s the author, whilst the pain is at its height,
but rather when it is somewhat lessened, otherwise, the extraction of the
tooth ma\' result in a s\ncope sometimes ending in death, or else be the
cause of intense inflammation and of suppuration, which, also, may, in
certain cases, place the patient's life in danger. He recommends an in-
finite number of remedies against odontalgia; in these, however, there is
nothing new to us. As to the removal of a tooth, this may be obtained
in three different wa\s, that is, with the forceps, with eradicating remedies,
or by cauterization. In order to cause a tooth to fall out b\ the use of
acrid, eradicating substances, the author advises to proceed in the fol-
lowing manner: The tooth is first freed, by means of a scalpel, from the
surrounding gum; the eradicating remedy is next applied to the root of
' Lib. ii, cap. xxxv, p. 197. - Lib. iii, cap. iv, p. 545.