The pathology of dental caries / by C. Spence Bate.

  • Bate, C. Spence.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The pathology of dental caries / by C. Spence Bate. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    paratively tested them by examinations with the teeth in the highest races of animals below man, I think that the following conclusions rela- tive to the normal character of healthy developed tissues may be confidently accepted. 3. Character of Normal Enamel.—The enamel as a whole is a semi-transparent tissue, being everywhere uniformly of the same consistency, the wavy columns lying so closely in contact with each other as only to be distinguishable under the influence of a strong light and a highly magnifying power. This close connection of one column with its neighbours is equally persistent in the relations of enamel with the dentine. The structure of the tissue approximates a homogeneous condition, and wraps the dentine in a covering that is impervious to the most subtile fluids, and is capable of resisting, in its healthy state, all but the most destructive chemical agents. 4. Character of Normal Dentine.—The dentine, under the most favourable conditions, is much more opaque than the enamel, and this opacity decidedly increases as it progresses from the peri- phery to the centre of the tooth. A thin section, viewed by the assistance of transmitted light, shows that the structure is most transparent at the circumference, and that this is due to the thinning of the dentinal tubes, and their distribu- tion in a field of larger area, whereas nearer to the pulp cavity the area is constricted, and the