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18 HISTORY OF DENTAL SUEGEKY

of the Alexandrian library, translations of Egyptian, Greek and Roman books
were made into Arabic and Syriac. For hundreds of years the practices, writ-
ings and teacliings of Hippocrates, Celsus, Galen and the otiier early writers,
Greeks and Romans, were thus preserved. But as the religion of Mohammed
forbade the handling of the dead luiman body, the study of practical anatomy
v,as impossible. T)ie surgeon's profession was under especial contempt, owing
to the religious and social prejudices, and all surgical operations had to be
performed by the physician's servants, or slaves, so as to protect the physician
himself from tlie involved defilement. Xo wonder that surgery sank to a low
condition of esteem.
Aetius, a Greek pliysician of Arabian liirth, wlio studied at Alexandria
and who lived in tlie iifth or sixth century, recommends tiling the teeth. He
describes a file invented by lum for this purpose, having a roimded head in
order to avoid lacerating the soft tissues, he urges great care in its use, and he
is said to have spoken as though he was the father of this operation. He dis-
covered tbat teeth were open at tlieir roots and had nerves that came from
the tri-facial system.
Abulcasis, another Arabian, wrote in the tenth or eleventh century to
free surgery from this contempt, and to liberate it and rescue it from the
I'ands '"of impudent and audacious barbers"' who frecjuently did great mis-
chief. He practically repeats the methods advocated by the earlier writers.
Some of the instruments he employed are here pictured. Figure 3 is an
instrument for shaking the teeth. Figure 3 is an instrument for extracting
properly loosened teetli, and Figures -4 and 5 are substitutes for the \idcella
of Celsus, used for the removal of jiortions of bone, of jaws or of roots
of teeth. He also described a variety of hooks, levers and other instniments.
His description of teclmical jirocedure in extraction is cei'tainly interesting.
He says: '"The head of the patient should be taken between the knees of the
operator, in order to keep it steady," if the tooth does not readily come out,
a kind of lever should be inserted under it on all sides, so as to raise it a little,
before again attempting its extraction." Figure fi is instruments to be used
in the application of the actual cautery. Figure 7 is a file used by him. and
Figure 8 represents the earliest type of turn key—employed for the extraction
of teeth.
He describes particularly the use of gold and silver wire in fastening
loose teeth, or in fastening replanted teeth. He is credited with liaving been
the first to recommend replanting teeth when one or more teeth had fallen out
as the result of an injury. Thus we k'arn that replanting of teeth was