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GUM BOILS. 187

they open ; as is very evident in the jaw-bones of many sculls ;
on which account the Tooth becomes more or less loose. It
may be perceived in the living body ; for when the alveolar
process is entirely destroyed on the outside of the Tooth, if
that Tooth be moved, the motion will be observed under the
gum, along the whole length of the fang.
So far the Teeth, alveolar processes, and gums, become
diseased by consent.
It is common for these abcesses to skin over, and, in all
appearance, heal. This is peculiar to those which open
through the Gums, but those which discharge themselves
between the Gums and Teeth, can never heal up, because the
Gum cannot unite with the Tooth ; however, the discharge in
them becomes less at times, from a subsiding of the sup-
puration which indeed is what allows the other to skin
;
over. But either exposure to cold, or some other accidental
cause, occasioning a fresh inflammation, produces an increased
suppuration, which either opens the old orifice in the Gum,
or augments the discharge by the side of the Tooth ; however,
I believe, the inflammation in this last case is not so violent
as in the other, where a fresh ulceration is necessary for the
passage of the matter.
Thus a Gum Boil goes on for years, healing and opening
alternately ; the effect of which is, that the alveolar pro-
cesses are at length absorbed, and the Tooth gets looser and
looser, till it either drops out, or is extracted.
Most probably in all such cases, the communications
between the cavity of the Tooth, and the jaw, is cut off
yet it keeps in part its lateral attachments, especially when
the gum grasps the Tooth ; but in those cases, where the
matter passes between the Gum and the Tooth, their attach-
ments are less ; but some of them are still retained, par-
ticularly on the side opposite to the passage for the matter.
Gum Boils are easily known. Those which open through
the Gum may be distinguished by a small rising between the