Thegotics Thegosis Drepanon Drepanid Incusion
Thegotics
The science that deals with the morphological, functional, and behavioural aspects of thegosis and the treatment of its related physical, emotional and social pathologies.
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Thegosis*
GREEK thego, to whet, sharpen; also metaphorically, to excite, provoke.
A phylogenetically derived behaviour that sharpens (whets, hones) a tooth by grinding it violently against another; the action occurs concomitantly with a sharpening (in the metaphorical sense) of the appropriate emotion, that is, a sharpening of the physiological determinants that not only prepare (thegose) the tooth but prepare the animal to grasp, attack, defend, incise or masticate.
The morphological adjustment of the tooth and the concomitant physiological excitation of the emotion are an integral reaction to a situation of stress. The behaviour, moreover, occurs discretely from that of ingesting or of grasping. The inherent advantage is the effective preparation for survival by:
1. Fighting: the tooth is a sharp weapon for attack or defence.
2. Ingesting: the tooth is a sharp tool for incision or mastication.
3. Fighting/ingesting: the tooth is a sharp weapon/tool for grasping.
Adjective thegotic.
* The term thegosis (Every, R.G. Symposium of vertebrate palaeontology and comparative anatomy, London, 1967; Postilla, 1970, 143: 1-30) replaces attrition originally suggested (Every, R. G. Lancet, 1960, 2: 37-39).
Every 1972
Drepanon
Greek drepane, sickle.
That part of the crown of a tooth in the upper jaw developed in the form of, and functioning as, a sickle.
Adjective drepanoid; plural drepana
Every 1972
Drepanid
The corresponding feature to the drepanon in a tooth in the lower jaw.
Adjective drepanoid; plural drepanids.
Every 1972
Incusion
Latin incuso, to hammer; incus, anvil
The action of dividing an exogenous material by striking it when held or confined by a tooth-surface orientated perpendicularly to the action – such as that of an anvil or chopping-block.
Adjective incusive.
Every 1972