Page 16 - An essay on the diseasesof the jaws, and their treatment

xii editor's preface. — change, which, to a certain extent, is observable, has occurred independently of the promulgation of Mr. Koecker's doctrines, it cannot but be regarded as a strong corroboration of their truth ; but, at the same time, without in the least detracting from his claims as the original indicator of the true pathology of the diseases of the jaws. • That such an alteration of opinion has been going on in the profession, I trust is sufficiently shown in the notes that I have added to the original work ; while the very limited extent to which the practical deduc- tions, in respect to curative treatment, have been carried, proves that there is still a want to be supplied. Indeed, Sir Benjamin Brodie, in his admirable clinical lecture on this subject, to which I have had occasion frequently to refer, acknowledges, that " No clear account of the diseases of the antrum is given by surgical writers." If this be true of one particular cavity of the maxillae, it is much more so in regard to the diseases of the jaws in general. Prior to the publication of this Essay, the diseases of the maxillary bones had not been treated in a comprehen- sive manner by any writer— ^the cavity of the upper jaw having alone received attention. On the affections of the antrum maxillare many works have, indeed, appeared from the writings of Deschamps and Bordenave down to the " Lettre Chirurgicale" of M. Gensoul, and Dr.