A TECHNIQUE FOR THE STUDY OF THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CALCIFIED TISSUES

¹ Department of Oral Histology and Embryology, University of Michigan, School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Organic material was extracted from samples of bone and teeth with ethylenediamine. The anorganic bone was impregnated with plastic containing a particulate dyestuff, decalcified, and impregnated with clear plastic to reveal a three-dimensional model of the vascular pattern. By only partial secondary plastic infiltration, the microstructure of bone can be studied in relation to this vascular skeleton. By substituting a low molecular weight plastic and gelatin for the organic, water, and inorganic portions of dentin and enamel, it was found that this model could be sectioned on a microtome and an accurate histologic reproduction obtained. Application of these technics should result in further elucidation of the structure of calcified tissues.