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THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURF 235

Their number is sufficienth' large; we will, however, onh' make mention
oi such as contributed to the cle\elopment of this branch of science, or
who, at least, expressed some opinion wortln' of note.
The celebrated anatomist Adrian Spiegel (1578 to 1625), better known
b\' the Latinized name of Spigeliiis, wrote nothing noteworthy about
the teeth, but he appears to have been the first to affirm that the teeth
are more firmh fixed in the alveolus, when their roots are curved after
the manner of hooks.'
DiKMERBROKK, a Dutciiman, relates several cases of dental anomalies,
as for example, of teeth being cut in the palate, and which injured the
tongue. The author cites his own case, relating that having had a
canine tooth extracted when well advanced in years, it was, nevertheless,
succeeded by a new one. He relates, besides, that he had seen in Utrecht
a woman, aged fift\'-six \ears, who again cut two incisors after having
lost the former ones two years previoush'. Apart from this, Diemer-
broeck tells us nothing of interest or importance regarding the teeth,
often repeating old ideas, the falseness of which had already been lumin-
ously demonstrated. For instance, he says that the permanent teeth are
developed from the roots of the deciduous ones remaining in the alveoli;
an unpardonable error for an anatomist of the seventeenth centur)-, for
which he was afterward taken to task by Duverney.-
Thomas Bartholin, whom we have already mentioned, speaks of
a tooth which had made all the round of the alveolar border; that is
to sa}', of a dental arch constituted by a single piece; and the Italian
anatomist Bernardo Genga makes mention of an analogous case.^
It is superfluous to add that these authors allowed themselves to be
deceived by false appearances, owing especially to an abundant and uni-
form deposit of tartar on the surface of the teeth and in their interstices,
which gave to the dental arch the appearance of one continuous piece.
RiNALDUS Fredericus, in his erudite dissertation entitled De dentium
statu naturali et prceternaturali, spoke of the dental system with sufficient
thoroughness, if we consider the epoch in which he wrote. He commences
his work with a long chapter on the importance and dignity of the teeth
{dignitas dentiuni). Among other things, he relates that formerl}', in
certain parts of India, the teeth were so highly valued as to be offered
in sacrifice to the gods. He says, too, on the authority of certain authors,
that the ancients were led to believe that the teeth served for the resur-
rection of the body, from the circumstance of their not showing signs of
corruption when found in sarcophagi.

' Blandin, Anatomie du systeme dentaire, Paris, 1836, p. 26.
- Blandin, op.
cir., p. 27; Portal, Histoire de I'anatomie et de la chirurgie, Paris, 1770,
vol. iii, p. 495.
^ Blandin, op. cit., p. 26
; Portal, op. cit.