Comparative dental anatomy: Evolution and comparison of dentition

Comparative anatomy is the study of body structures of different species in order to understand the adaptive changes they have undergone in the course of evolution.Comparative Dental Anatomy deals with comparative study of morphology of teeth and their related structures in different animals and also between members of the same species. Study on comparative anatomy can be traced back to scattered anatomical observations made by ancient Greeks. Now it has progressed even further with the recent concepts on molecular and genetic similarities between species. In this book an attempt has been made to compare the dentition and related structures of various animals. The chapters provide discussions on dental evolution, dental morphology and the anatomic variations in teeth jaws and muscles of mastication according to the animal’s feeding habits.

Dr.K.M.K.Masthan is the Head of the Department of Oral Pathology at Sree Balaji Dental College & Hospital,Bharath University,Chennai,India.He is the Editor of IJMD and has more than 50 publications and twelve books to his credit.Dr.S.Leena Sankari is an Associate professor in the same department.She has twelve publications to her credit.