incisor

Dictionary: in·ci·sor (ĭn-sī'zər) pronunciation

n.
A tooth adapted for cutting or gnawing, located at the front of the mouth along the apex of the dental arch.

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Dental Dictionary: incisor(s)

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(insī'zur)
n

A cutting tooth, one of the four anterior teeth of either jaw.

Health Dictionary: incisors

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(in-seye-zuhrz)

The sharp teeth at the front of the mouth (four on the top and four on the bottom) that are specialized for cutting. (Compare molars.)

Veterinary Dictionary: incisor

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1. adapted for cutting.
2. any one of the six (eight in ruminants but only in the lower jaw) front teeth of either jaw. See also teeth.

Word Tutor: incisor

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IN BRIEF: The front or cutting tooth.

Some animals have very sharp incisors.

Tutor's tip: This was the final winning word in the 1975 National Spelling Bee.

Wikipedia: Incisor

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Incisor

Permanent teeth of right half of lower dental arch, seen from above.

The permanent teeth, viewed from the right.
Latin	dentes incisivi
Gray's	subject #242 1115
MeSH	Incisor

Incisors (from Latin incidere, "to cut") are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.

1 Function
2 Number and types of incisors
- 2.1 In humans
- 2.2 In Non-human animals
3 Additional images
4 See also

Function

In many herbivorous or omnivorous mammals, such as the human and the horse, they are adapted for shearing sharply. In cats, the incisors are small; biting off meat is done with the canines and the carnassials. In elephants, the upper incisors are modified into curved tusks, just as is the case with Narwhals, where normally one of them develops into a straight and twisted tusk. The incisors of rodents grow throughout life and are worn by gnawing.

Number and types of incisors

In humans

Humans normally have eight (8) incisors, two of each type. The types of incisors are:

In Non-human animals

Among other animals, some other primates, cats and horses have twelve. Rodents have four. Rabbits and hares (lagomorphs) were once considered rodents, but are distinguished by having eight--1 small pair, called "peg teeth" is directly behind the most anterior pair.

Additional images

Mouth (oral cavity)

Left maxilla. Outer surface.

Base of skull. Inferior surface.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Health Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more
		Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more
		Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Incisor". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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