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210 THIRD PERIOD—MODERN TIMES

deglutition, including sometimes even those of the tongue itself, and in
this case, as the food introduced into the oral cavity could not be swallow^ed,
it is preferable to convey it directly into the pharynx, by means of a cannula
passed through the nostrils.
The second of the above-mentioned operations^ is designed, says
Fabricius, to take away the dirtiness of the teeth and the bad odor of the
mouth {dentiii7U itmuunditiaui et oris fcetorem tollit). The dental tartar
{ostracoderma) must be removed by slender instruments ot an appropriate
shape, vs^hich, for people of high position (^prornagnatibus) shall be made
of silver. This advice is sufficient to make us understand that Fabricius,
although an excellent surgeon, had no practice in dental operations;
otherwise he would have known that the hardness and adhesion of tartar
is generally so great that its removal absolutely requires scrapers of
tempered steel and not of a soft metal like silver.
To arrest caries, he first drops into the carious hollow, by means of a
small silver funnel, some drops of oil of vitriol, or of some other caustic
liquid; and then he performs actual cauterization with appropriate instru-
ments; after which the cavity is filled with gold leaf (auro foliato).
When one or more teeth have appeared in an irregular position and
offend the walls of the oral cavity or else the tongue, the excision (resec-
tion) of the tooth or teeth must be performed with a pair of strong pincers,
whose shape must vary according to whether the teeth are situated ex-
ternally or internally with regard to the dental arches. But as after the
resection there will almost always remain some points or sharp irregular-
ities, which by their presence would continue to irritate the soft parts, it
will be necessary to remove these irritating prominences by means of
the file.
As to extraction, Fabricius of Aquapendente counsels great prudence
in performing the operation, and on this point he repeats all the warnings
already given by Celsus, an author whom he greatly admires and the
study of whose writings he warmly recommends.
It seems that in those times there was more than sufficient reason to
inculcate extreme caution in regard to the extraction of teeth. This
was not then performed by true dentists, but rather by barbers and by
ignorant tooth pullers, or else, in exceptional cases, by general surgeons,
very skilful, perhaps, in everything else, but little practised in the opera-
tion we are speaking of; besides this, the instruments left much to be
desired; and lastly there was not, nor could there be, any idea of asepsis.
What wonder, therefore, if the extraction of teeth was frequently the cause
of serious injuries! Fabricius relates that it often happened to him to
have to extract, in little fragments, half or sometmies a whole jaw, which

' Cap. xxxiii, p. 455.