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Inaugural Dissertation. 55
If, in general, the teeth do not suffer any change in molli-
fies ossium and rachitis,* their very dense structure satisfactorily
accounts for the fact.
To the above arguments of Mr. Hunter, is added that of ex-
foliation, f That the teeth do not exfoliate, we conceive not
to militate at all against their vascularity, inasmuch as those
bones which are the most vascular, exfoliate the most readily,
as the bones of the extremities, while those of a more dense
structure, exfoliate with more difficulty, as the bones of the
skull. Thus, if a portion of the tibiaif be removed, it will
granulate; while a portion of the skull removed by the tre-
phine|| is never regenerated. That the teeth do not possess
sufficient vascularity to render them capable of exfoliation, we
think a wise provision of nature ; for, had this been the case,
the teeth would have been too soft to have performed their
proper functions, and would have been more susceptible of
inflammation and disease ; besides, who would, or could bear
the torture, which the tedious process of the exfoliation of the
teeth would occasion ?
That the teeth possess sufficient vascularity, and have a
circulation of the serous part of the blood through their bony
structure, we judge from the following circumstances:
First— It is impossible to conceive, that any part of an ani-
mal, or a vegetable, can exist and possess life, without a nutri-
ent circulating fluid to sustain that principle.
Second—The anatomy of the teeth themselves. The fangs
of the teeth are surrounded and held in their sockets by a
periosteum, § and as the periosteum of other bones transmits

* Rickets.
t Exfoliation, (from exfoliare, to cast the leaf.) The process by which
nature separates dead bone from the living, and supplies its place by a
new ossific formation.
t Tibia. The shin bone or the largest bone of the leg.
II Trephine. An instrument by which surgeons cut out round pieces
of the skull, for the relief of compression of the brain.
§ Periosteum, (about a bone.) The membrane which surrounds the