An introductory lecture on dental surgery : delivered at the Metropolitan School of Dental Science, Wednesday, October 12, 1859 / by Robert T. Hulme.

  • Hulme, Robert Thomas.
Date:
1860
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introductory lecture on dental surgery : delivered at the Metropolitan School of Dental Science, Wednesday, October 12, 1859 / by Robert T. Hulme. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    then termed, the ivory of the tooth—was seen to contain a number of delicate tubes ramifying tliroughout its substance ; it was evident that these osseous canals, if they would not permit the red particles of the blood to pass through them, were at least capable of conveying the transuded plasma of the nutrient fluid. In the outer layer of bone which invests the fang, and is commonly called the cement, Pur- kingie demonstrated the presence of the minute cells with numerous caniculi radiating from them which have since gone by his name, and whicli correspond to similar corpuscules met with in true bone. If red blood is excluded from the dentine, it is not always so as regards the cement. In ordinary bone there are certain canals named, after their discoverer, Haversian canals ; these contain the blood vessels which are distributed to the interior of the bone, and it is around these canals that the osseous corpuscules are arranged. Similar canals are occasionally found in the cement, and prove that, at least in this part of the tooth, it is possible for the red globules of the blood to circulate. Lastly, the enamel was seen to consist of separate rods of calcareous matter, each invested by a membranous case, the whole of its external surface being covered by a peculiar structureless membrane. The membrane which thus invests the crown of the tooth possesses a remarkable power of resisting the action of chemical agents. According to Kolliker it is not altered by maceration in water, nor is it dissolved by boiling in water, in concen- trated acetic, hydrochloric, sulphuric, or nitric acids, nor is it acted upon by the caustic alkalies except by boiling. At length, then, we have obtained the means of reconciling the conflicting opinions which I have previously alluded to. The physiologist finds a well-defined and complex structure which compels him to admit the teeth amongst the living and organised parts of the body. If the dentist is called upon to modify, in some respects, the views which he entertained with regard to the circulation which takes place in the teeth, he is enabled to explain their pathology in a more satisfactory manner than he could do pre- viously, whUe the principles by which he is guided in practice are no longer empirical, but rest upon a rational and scientific basis. Thus far we may congratulate ourselves upon the progress which dental science has made during the last few years. The united labovirs of many original and independent observers have succeeded in unravel- ling the minute anatomy of the teeth, and a large amount of infor- mation has been accumulated in relation to the treatment of their diseases. But, while much has been done, more remains to be accom- plished, and for this reason I feel that these lectures must necessarily