Impaction

Impaction may refer to:

See also

Impaction (animals)

Impaction is bowel obstruction that can occur in various kinds of animals when they consume something that they cannot digest. For example, in reptiles, common causes of impaction are rocks and sand, which might be accidentally consumed when the reptile attacks its prey. In livestock, rough fodder such as straw can risk impaction. Once the substance is ingested it will block the digestive tract and, if untreated, cause death.

Symptoms

Some symptoms include a lack of appetite or lethargy. On many reptiles a large blue seemingly bruised spot will be visible in the abdomen; however, this only shows through if the skin on the species is clear enough to see the lower internal organs.

Treatment

Common treatments involve placing the reptile in a lukewarm bath and gently rubbing the area under the impaction to help the passing of the consumed substance, place both thumbs on the back at the middle, put the first two fingers under the belly and rub gently in a circular way until the beaded dragon puffs up, when the lizard puffs up it will go the loo. If this fails, the animal must have an enema.

Wisdom tooth

A wisdom tooth or third molar is one of the three molars per quadrant of the human dentition. It is the most posterior (most distal) of the three. Wisdom teeth generally erupt between the ages of 17 and 25. Most adults have four wisdom teeth (a third molar in each of the four quadrants), but it is possible to have fewer or more, in which case the extras are called supernumerary teeth. Wisdom teeth commonly affect other teeth as they develop , becoming impacted or "coming in sideways." They are often extracted when this occurs.

Anatomy

Variation

Agenesis of wisdom teeth differs by population, ranging from practically zero in Tasmanian Aborigines to nearly 100% in indigenous Mexicans. The difference is related to the PAX9 gene (and perhaps other genes).

Function

Wisdom teeth are vestigial third molars that helped human ancestors to grind plant tissue. The common postulation is that the skulls of human ancestors had larger jaws with more teeth, which were possibly helped to chew foliage to compensate for a lack of ability to efficiently digest the cellulose that makes up a plant cell wall. As human diets changed, smaller jaws gradually evolved, yet the third molars, or "wisdom teeth", still commonly develop in human mouths.