A History of Dentistry from the most Ancient Times until the end of the Eighteenth CenturyGuerini, Vincenzo
History
A History of Dentistry from the most Ancient Times until the end of the Eighteenth Century
Guerini, Vincenzo
Dentistry -- History
“In luxations of the jaw (Chapter XII) the bone is always displaced
forward; but sometimes only on one side, and sometimes on both sides.
When the dislocation is only on one side, the chin and the whole jaw
are found deviated toward the part opposite to the luxation; and
the similar teeth of the two dental arches do not correspond; but
instead under the upper incisors will be found the canine tooth of
the dislocated part. If, however, the luxation is bilateral, the
chin inclines and projects forward; the lower teeth are farther in
front than the upper ones, and the muscles of the temples are tightly
stretched. The reduction of the luxation must be performed as quickly
as possible. The patient having been made to sit down, an assistant
holds the head firmly from behind; or else the patient is made to sit
with his shoulders against a wall, with a hard cushion between this and
his head, whilst the assistant holds the head against the cushion, and
so keeps it steady. Then the operator, after wrapping his two thumbs in
linen cloth or strips, that they may not slip, introduces them into the
patient’s mouth and, applying the other fingers on the outside, firmly
grasps the jaw. Then whilst lowering the back part of the latter, he
shakes the chin and pushes it upward and backward, seeking to shut the
mouth, and in this way making the jaw return to its natural position.
“The bone having been replaced, if the accident should have given rise
to pains in the eyes and neck, it will be well to draw blood from the
arm. After the luxation has been reduced, the patient must be nourished
for some time on liquid food, and abstain, as much as possible, from
speaking.”
CAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS. After Celsus, a very celebrated writer on
medicine and natural science was Caius Plinius Secundus. He was born
at Como in the year 23 of the Christian era, and flourished from the
days of Nero to those of Vespasian. Endowed with a liberal education,
he gave himself up to public life, filling many important posts, among
which, that of Governor of Spain under Nero and his successors. In
the year 79 after Christ, while he was in command of the Roman fleet
at Misenum, the tremendous eruption of Vesuvius took place, by which
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other neighboring cities were destroyed.
Pliny, driven by the desire to study that marvellous and awful natural
phenomenon, betook himself to Stabia, but was there suffocated by the
ashes and smoke erupted by Vesuvius.
In spite of the many places occupied by him, Pliny found time to
write many works, and among these the thirty-seven books on _Natural
History_, which have given him eternal fame.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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