HOMOLOGOUS AND HETEROLOGOUS INTRAOCULAR GROWTH OF TRANSPLANTED TOOTH GERMS

¹ Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.

Whole or parts of tooth germs will survive transplantation from man to lower animals and between lower animals to the anterior chamber of the eye. The exception to this was found in homotransplants of the anlagen of 14 or 15 day tooth germs in mice, but these tissues survived transplantation to other sites. The morphology of the developing tooth was lost when the internal epithelial layer, the ameloblasts, failed to survive. When ameloblasts and odontoblasts were separated from each other dentin usually formed and occasionally enamel was formed. Degeneration of ameloblasts resulted in the formation of cords or clusters of epithelial cells with pearl formation and with occasional appearance of cysts. Transplants of long standing underwent revision and calcified tooth structures were gradually replaced by an osteoid tissue that closely resembled bone. Growth of these transplants never exceeded the anterior chamber. Transplants of human tooth germs to guinea pigs' eyes and transplants of rabbit tooth germs to rabbits' eyes gave the best results.

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