Excerpt from The Southern Practitioner, Vol. 11: An Independent Monthly Journal, Devoted to Medicine and Surgery; October 1889 As a representative of Nashville and a member of the American Medical Association, I extend to all an earnest invitation to be present on that occasion. After thus calling attention to the practical features of our Association's work, I wish to direct your special attention to the subject of dentistry from the hygienic standpoint. The digestive apparatus in man, commences with the lips and the Buccal cavity which is at the origin of the alimentary canal. The nutritive and aliment preparing function, is a condition of the continuance of life. Of old it was said Of the animal, the blood thereof is the life thereof. The blood is nature's vehicle, to convey nutrition to the whole body. Without food there can be no blood with poor food, poor blood with food improperly or imperfectly prepared or masticated and delivered to the stomach, diseased blood. To trace a mouthful of food until it becomes blood, would be interesting and instructive, but would require too much time. I can only discuss the first step in the progress from food to blood. I desire to emphasize the mouth as a hygienic organ, whose functions mechanic, organic or nervous, I do not believe, have ever been properly appreciated by the medical profession and I fear not over estimated by the dental. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.