Regional Veterinary Surgery

BISHOPING

• Bishoping is a technique used to make an aged horse to appear as young by creating infundibular marks artificially.
• The normal infundibulum marks disappear from centrals by six years. From lateral and corners by seven and eight years respectively.
• By staining with silver nitrate, the artificial infundibulum marks are made to resemble normal infundibulum marks.
• Artificial marks less deep on centrals, moderate in laterals, deeper in corners.
• Bishoping can be easily detected by noting the shape of the table surface of the tooth.
• In the young horse (<8 years), the table is roughly oval sideways, whereas in aged animals (>8 years) the table is triangular.
• In very old animals the tables become circular in shape and also the artificial markings are not lined by enamel unlike the normal infundibulum.