title: Cybernetic hypothesis of periodontal disease in mammalian carnivores.
abstract: Factors known to govern the pathogenesis of periodontal disease of carnivores are reinterpreted from an ecological perspective. A cybernetic hypothesis is generated which predicts and explains population control mechanisms. Sensitivity to prevailing conditions and the ability to exert a powerful influence upon those conditions is central to the hypothesis. Natural and domestic situations are contrasted with demonstration of a range of immune-mediated conditions arising from a permanent septic focus in the mouths of domestic cats and dogs. The hypothesis is expected to withstand critical scrutiny. In which case a new theory at the heart of a new paradigm will set the future course.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lonsdale
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D002415:Cats; D003491:Cybernetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D004285:Dogs; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*